Pocillopora inflata
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| Pocillopora inflata | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Subphylum: | Anthozoa |
| Class: | Hexacorallia |
| Order: | Scleractinia |
| Family: | Pocilloporidae |
| Genus: | Pocillopora |
| Species: | P. inflata |
| Binomial name | |
| Pocillopora inflata Glynn, 1999 [2] | |
Pocillopora inflata is a species of stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It was first described by Peter William Glynn in 1999. It is found growing on coral reefs in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean but is nowhere abundant.
Pocillopora inflata is a colonial, zooxanthellate, arborescent coral. It varies in shape, sometimes forming knobbly mounds which can grow to 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) across, and sometimes having a more open structure with short branches several centimetres in diameter. The colour ranges from yellowish brown to shades of green.[3] It can be distinguished from other members of the genus by the fact that it has swollen ends to the branches, a small number of pointed verrucae (or none at all) and prominent columellae on the lower part of the colony.[4] The corallites are small and densely crowded and some of the septa, which are indistinct, are fused with the columella. The polyps have 12 tentacles.[5]
Distribution and habitat
Pocillopora inflata occurs in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean from the coast of Mexico to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands. It favours rocky shores and grows at depths of less than 10 metres (33 ft).[1]