Sunray lettuce coral
Leptoseris cucullata
(Ellis & Solander, 1786)
Description:
Colonies form flat plates or saucers of 10-25 cm in diameter. The ridges and valleys are short, and not continuous. The corallite centers are distinctively nestled in rows against the ridges' steep inner edges. Outer ridge faces slope more gently toward the colonies' edge. Columella trabecular and discontinuous.
Color:
Tan to yellow-brown, brown and gray, may fluoresce green, blue or purple tints.
Corallites:
Corallite diameter less than 2.5 mm, with 15-22 septa per corallite. Columella weakly developed, trabecular and discontinuous.
Habitat:
Inhabit sloping reefs, most common between 7.5 and 30 m.
Distribution:
Common to occasional Florida, Bahamas and Caribbean.