Georgina Jones
Info
Sansibia flava (May, 1898)
Sansibia flava forms small, flat, soft cushions on small stones in turbid water, near the mid-water mark, on rocky shores and among coral rubble, and is often overlooked.
The coral develops ribbon-like stolons from which the polyps arise, the polyps themselves not retractable. Color of colonies brown, green, blue. Sclerites are small ovals.
Coral colonies are about 5-10 cm in size. There is only one type of polyps that grow out of a thin, soft, common membrane that can also be ribbon-like (stolons), although this is usually hidden under sand and sediment. Polyps are 1 cm in diameter on stalks 1-2 cm long.
The eight tentacles of each polyp are broad and have many thick lateral branches (pinnules) arranged in 1 to 4 rows along both edges of each tentacle.
Some have long tentacles, while in others the tentacles are shorter.
The tiny polyps usually do not fully retract into the common tissue and do not pulsate. The color of the polyps ranges from beige, pink, pale powder blue to bright blue.The entire animal is the same color, but the entire colony may have patches of polyps in different colors. The blue sheen is due to the iridescent sclerites (tiny pieces of calcium carbonate) found throughout the animal.
The animals harbor a high density of symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) and are therefore found in clearer water or higher up in the intertidal zone.
Predator: The nudibranch Dermatobranchus caesitius feeds on this soft coral.
Synonyms:
Anthelia flava (May, 1898).
Clavularia flava May, 1898
Sansibia flava forms small, flat, soft cushions on small stones in turbid water, near the mid-water mark, on rocky shores and among coral rubble, and is often overlooked.
The coral develops ribbon-like stolons from which the polyps arise, the polyps themselves not retractable. Color of colonies brown, green, blue. Sclerites are small ovals.
Coral colonies are about 5-10 cm in size. There is only one type of polyps that grow out of a thin, soft, common membrane that can also be ribbon-like (stolons), although this is usually hidden under sand and sediment. Polyps are 1 cm in diameter on stalks 1-2 cm long.
The eight tentacles of each polyp are broad and have many thick lateral branches (pinnules) arranged in 1 to 4 rows along both edges of each tentacle.
Some have long tentacles, while in others the tentacles are shorter.
The tiny polyps usually do not fully retract into the common tissue and do not pulsate. The color of the polyps ranges from beige, pink, pale powder blue to bright blue.The entire animal is the same color, but the entire colony may have patches of polyps in different colors. The blue sheen is due to the iridescent sclerites (tiny pieces of calcium carbonate) found throughout the animal.
The animals harbor a high density of symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) and are therefore found in clearer water or higher up in the intertidal zone.
Predator: The nudibranch Dermatobranchus caesitius feeds on this soft coral.
Synonyms:
Anthelia flava (May, 1898).
Clavularia flava May, 1898
