Millepora complanata (bladed fire corals) (San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 1 (16083655635)

Description:

Description: Millepora complanata (Lamarck, 1816) - bladed fire corals in a patch reef. These upright structures are calcareous skeletons of colonies of hydrozoan polyps. They are not true stony corals - fire corals are hydrozoans while true stony corals are anthozoans. Nematocysts in the tentacles of the small polyps deliver a painful sting. The skeleton of Millepora complanata has a wrinkled bladed form. Another species, Millepora alcicornis, also occurs in patch reefs around San Salvador Island - it has a complexly branching skeleton. Classification: Animalia, Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Milleporidae Locality: Gaulin Reef, northern Graham's Harbour, offshore from the northern shoreline of San Salvador Island, eastern Bahamas. Date: 19 June 2010, 15:30. Source: Millepora complanata (bladed fire corals) (San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 1. Author: James St. John.