Specimen image via iDigBio · CC0
Oculina
Sign in to saveOculina is a genus of colonial stony coral in the family Oculinidae. These corals are mostly found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Bermuda but some species occur in the eastern Pacific Ocean. They occur at depths down to 1000 metres.
Species
eyed coral
Genus
- PhylumCnidaria
- ClassHexacorallia
- OrderScleractinia
- FamilyOculinidae
via
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 617
- With media
- 47
- Family
- Oculinidae
- Collections
- PRI, UF, UCMP
- Recorded in
- Chile, United States
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Oculinidae
- Image
- Oculina varicosa.jpg
Show 4 more facts
- Commons category
- Oculina
- taxon name
- Oculina
- taxon rank
- genus
- topic's main category
- Category:Oculina
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
3 sectionsContents
- Description
- Species
- References
Oculina is a genus of colonial stony coral in the family Oculinidae. These corals are mostly found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Bermuda but some species occur in the eastern Pacific Ocean. They occur at depths down to 1000 metres.
==Description== The colonies of Oculina have a straggly branching structure and are mostly pale yellow. The branches are slim, not exceeding in diameter. The corallites which house the polyps are widely separated. Their walls are composed of fragile, solid-walled tubes. Each corallite has 12 primary septa with fine teeth which partially project from the corallite wall and which are larger than the intermediate septa. Some species contain symbiotic microalgae called zooxanthellae.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Oculina” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.