Common Name: Sunshine Coral

Distribution: Common throughout the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region. In Australia recorded from Jurien Bay in Western Australia, around the tropical north of the continent and south to Sydney on the east coast.

Ecological Notes: Usually found in caves or under overhangs, or on shaded walls. Depth to 40 m.

Additional Notes: Striking colouration is characteristic, polyps may be extended during the day, or retracted as in the lower image. Often preyed upon by the small snail Epidendrium billeeanum which eats the polyp then deposits eggs in the colony. Large fleshy polyps up to 12 mm across.

References: Veron, J.E.N., Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. Angus and Robertson Publishers, 1986. Pp. 580.