01 Aug Did you know? There’s a coral named after a flower

This International Year of the Reef, we are shining the spotlight on various coral species.  Did you know that there’s a coral named after a flower? Carnation Corals come in many colors and are distinguished as one of the most beautiful soft corals in the ocean. However, Carnation Corals have been in decline because of its sensitivity to changes in water chemistry.

Due to their bright colors, the Dendronephthya genus is the easiest to identify genus in the Nephtheidae family. The colors are crazy bright reds, purples, pinks, greens, whites oranges and yellows and mixes of these as well. Some combinations are white stalks with red and orange polyps, or white with yellow polyps, clear with white visible sclerites and pink polyps, yellow stalks with red polyps, white stalks with red polyps or all green, all yellow, all purple and more. Typical of the Nephtheidae family, they have also been known to change colors.