Oculina diffusa

Oculina diffusa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Cnidaria
Class:	Anthozoa
Order:	Scleractinia
Family:	Oculinidae
Genus:	Oculina
Species:	O. diffusa
Binomial name
Oculina diffusa Lamarck, 1816

Oculina diffusa is a coral that is mainly found on the east coast of central Florida, but is also found in North Carolina, Burma, the Bahamas, and West Indies. The common name for this coral is Ivory Bush Coral. Most of the time, Oculina diffusa lives at 6.56 to 9.84 feet of depth, but can also be found at 32.8 to 65.61 feet. It's colonies are dense and have a yellow-brown color. Likes living in areas with high amounts of sedimentation and somewhat close to the surface.

Physical Appearance

Colonies of Oculina diffusa are usually 1 foot in diameter and have arms/branches that extend about less than half an inch in diameter and twist out.Colonies have been recorded to be 13-31 degrees Celsius in temperature. It's a sessile animal. Their color can go from lavender to white.

Food

Ocolina diffusa normally eat plankton and other small fish, some have also been known to filter feed on tiny particles in the water.

Reproduction

The ivory bush coral reproduces sexually by broadcast spawning. In shallow water, this is believe to occur between July and August, and during September in deeper water.^[1] A sexually produced polyp sinks to the bottom where it asexually buds. This occurs until it forms entire colonies of coral.

References

http://www.sms.si.edu/irlSpec/Oculin_diffus.htm

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/5/aafeature1_album/27.jpg

1. ^ http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/species/ivorytreecoral_detailed.pdf