Compact Leather Coral

Appearance

This soft coral has an encrusting base with a digitized surface. Its surface presents bunches of short, fleshy fingers, rounded tips. Its color is beige-pink. It is leather-like when the polyps are retracted, as in Sarcophyton. The polyps are numerous but not tight, with 8 pinnate tentacles of white color. It forms small colonies. The skeleton is made up of spicules.

Naming

Also known as Compact Finger Coral, Devils Hand Coral, Leather Coral, White Finger Coral.

Distribution

Widespread Indo-Pacific.

Habitat

It is found in sediment-coral reef interface areas. It does not nourish thanks to the zooxanthellae algae it hosts and zooplankton. Max depth 32 m.

Reproduction

The Anthozoa class is gonochoric or hermaphrodite. Male and female gametes, after fertilization, give rise to planktonic ciliated (free swimming) larvae, before larval colonization of the substrate.

Food

Presence of symbiotic algae, zooxanthellae.

Uses

There are scientific studies concerning the anticancer and antioxidant properties of Lobophytum compactum leather coral