Physical description ⁴

These corals commonly have tentacles in multiples of three, which is characteristic of all corals belonging to the subclass Zoantharia, also known as Hexacorallia (Encarta 1997). At night, the tiny fingerlike tentacles of the corals emerge. They pump themselves up with water and pop out like tiny stars all over a coral reef (Sargent 1991). The staghorn coral, -A. cervicornis-, grows into "antler-like branches" so the polyps are raised above the sand (McGregor 1974). Staghorn corals have nematocysts, which are stinging cells that are located on their tentacles. These stinging cells are necessary for a coral to obtain food (Sisson 1973).

Fuentes y créditos

1. Original uploader was Albert Kok at nl.wikipedia. (Original text : Albert Kok), sin restricciones conocidas de derechos (dominio publico), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Hertshoon.jpg/460px-Hertshoon.jpg
2. Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Staff (NOAA), sin restricciones conocidas de derechos (dominio publico), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/26879.jpg
3. (c) Callie, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC), subido por Callie
4. (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/18630483

Más información

• NaturaLista página del taxón
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Corals of the World
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SeaLifeBase
• World Register of Marine Species

Range Map

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