species: Porites cylindrica in Lizard Island area: all known taxa (Lizard Island Field Guide)
Porites cylindrica


©Andy Lewis: A grey colony of Porites cylindrica at the lagoon entrance channel, Lizard Island

©Andy Lewis: A macro image of Porites cylindrica showing the typical structure of corallites

©Andy Lewis: Macro image of Porites cylindrica with Porites rus at bottom left
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Cnidaria
Class Hexacorallia
Order Scleractinia
Family Poritidae
Genus Porites
Species Porites cylindrica
Status near threatened

Colours

         

Distinguishing features

A coral that forms branched colonies that can reach very large sizes. Corallites are small and embedded, and like all Porites species, they share common walls. Colour is typically light yellow-brown or grey. (Contributed by Andy Lewis)

Size

  • Size data has not been obtained.

Synonyms

Similar taxa

Distribution


©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution

Distribution and habitat preferences

Protected lagoons and back reef margins.

Can be found in most habitats around Lizard Island.

Behaviour

Crown-of-thorns starfish is a common species at Lizard Island that forms large mono-specific stands in many areas. It is resistant to feeding by Crown-of-thorns starfish and so has survived the 1990s outbreak with little loss.

This species is a gonochoric broadcast spawner.

Web resources

References

  • Almany, G.R. (2004). Priority effects in coral reef fish communities of the Great Barrier Reef, Ecology, 85: 2872-2880. LIRS catalog number 879.
  • Baird, A.H. (2001). The ecology of coral larvae: settlement patterns, habitat selection and the length of the larval phase, Ph.D. thesis, James Cook University. LIRS catalog number 716.
  • Baird, A.H., J.R. Guest and B.L. Willis (2009). Systematic and biogeographical patterns in the reproductive biology of scleractinian corals, Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 40: 551-571.
  • View all references