''Danafungia scruposa'' is a species of

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

that is the first to have been observed to eat jellyfish. It was described by Klunzinger in 1879 and has a diameter of around . It is rated as a

least-concern species A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Description

They are around in diameter and normally eat a variety of food from bacteria to mesozooplankton measuring 1 mm in diameter. During an

algal bloom An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompas ...

in 2009 researchers observed the coral consuming the jellyfish ''

Aurelia aurita ''Aurelia aurita'' (also called the common jellyfish, moon jellyfish, moon jelly or saucer jelly) is a species of the genus ''Aurelia''. All species in the genus are very similar, and it is difficult to identify ''Aurelia'' medusae without geneti ...

''. This was the first time such behaviour has been seen in the wild. It is not known how the coral captures jellyfish. This coral is unusual in that it consists of a single polyp up to across. It may have caught the jellyfish with its tentacles in the same way as some sea anemones feed on other jellyfish species. Its polyps have diameters of up to and are oval or circular. The species may contain tentacular lobes and it has dense septa. It is blue or brown in colour. Its maximum diameter is around .

Distribution

''D. scruposa'' is found in the eastern and western Indian Ocean, the eastern central, northwestern and western central Pacific Ocean, Japan, the East China Sea, the Red Sea, and eastern Australia. No population figures are available for the species but it is believed to be common and is found at depths between on the slopes of reefs. A 1991 study of specimens found that 51% were bleached. It is threatened by bleaching, disease, climate change, fishing, preadators, and human activities. ''F. scruposa'' is classified as a least concern species by the IUCN.

Taxonomy

It was originally described by Klunzinger in 1879 as ''Fungia scruposa''. The species is also known by synonym ''Fungia corona'' (Döderlein, 1901).

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q13511182, from2=Q3953707 Fungiidae Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Fauna of the Red Sea Marine fauna of Africa Marine fauna of Asia Marine fauna of Oceania Marine fauna of Southeast Asia Marine fauna of Western Asia Cnidarians of Australia Corals described in 1879 Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN