Diffuse ivory bush coral
Oculina diffusa
Lamarck, 1816
Description:
Colonies form densely branched, thicket-like clumps, up to 30 cm. Branches tend to be short, are often crooked and bear numerous raised corallites. Branches less than 1.5 cm in diameter.
Color:
Yellow-brown, but often encrusted with organisms of different color. Colonies without zooxanthellae are cream to white.
Corallites:
Corallites 3-4 mm in diameter, without costae. Columella well-developed, trabecular.
Habitat:
Generally inhabit shallow water areas of high sedimentation, down to 25 m.
Distribution:
Common to occasional in Florida and the Bahamas; occasional to rare in the Caribbean.