Cnidaria
Oculina arbuscula
(Ivory bush coral)
1. In situ (Greg McFall)
2. In situ (Greg McFall)
3. In situ - Image shows bleaching of O. arbuscula (Danny Gleason)
4. In situ - Image shows bleaching of O. arbuscula (Danny Gleason)
5. Out of water (Steve Vives)
6. Out of water (Steve Vives)
7. Out of water (Steve Vives)
Size
Colony height: reaching 60cm (24"). Branch diameter: 1.5-2.5cm (0.5" to 1"). Corallite width: 1cm (0.25")
Recognition Characters
Colonies form long, tangled clumps of crooked branches. Branches often end in a fork. Colonies may be spherical in shape. Corallites (coral cups) extend prominently from raised mounds on branches, except on smaller branches near tips.
Color
Brown to yellowish brown. Without zooxanthellae it is white to lavender.
Habitat & Depth
Encrust hard bottoms, rocky outcroppings and shipwrecks. To 100m.
Distribution at GRNMS
Abundant. Grows on the top of ledges.
Geographic Range
South Carolina, Georgia, West Coast Florida
Behavior & Notes
Ahermatypic coral (non-reef building stony coral).
Synonyms
Humann 1992b