Coe. 52 / Coe. 58 Tubipora

            Kingdom         - Animalia

            Phylum            - Cnidaria

            Class                - Anthozoa

            Order               - Alcyonacea

            Family             - Tubiporidae

            Genus              - Tubipora

Common name: Organ-pipe coral

Characters:

            The colony is of red colour and is comprised of large numbers of vertical CaCO3 tubes of different sizes. The tubes are connected with transverse platforms and contain polyps. The polyps are green retractile and bears eight pinnate tentacles, few gonads and mesentaries in multiples of 8. The tubes are secreted by polyps and are formed by admixtures of spicules and secretions. The transverse platforms are also hollow and through them traverse the stolon’s, which connects polyps in adjacent tubes. Internal skeleton is made of spicules. They reproduce through budding from the stolon. It usually takes part in the upper half expanding in the upper half and ultimately acquires a shape of inverted pyramid as a result of which the colony goes on.

 IUCN status: Near Threatened