''Euphyllia paraglabrescens'' is a species of large-polyped

stony coral Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a ...

belonging to the

Euphylliidae Euphylliidae (Greek eu-, true; Greek phyllon, leaf) are known as a family of polyped stony corals under the order Scleractinia. This family consists of multiple genera (more than one genus) and various species which are found among the ocean f ...

family. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has listed it as a vulnerable species, stating "its threat susceptibility increases the likelihood of being lost within one generation."

Description

Colonies of ''Euphyllia paraglabrescens'' are almost identical to those of ''

Euphyllia glabrescens ''Euphyllia glabrescens'' is a species of large-polyped stony coral belonging to the family Caryophylliidae. Its common name is the torch coral due to its long sweeper tentacles tipped with potent cnidocytes. It is a commonly kept species in the ...

'' with short, bubble-like tentacles that extend at night with

cnidocyte A cnidocyte (also known as a cnidoblast or nematocyte) is an explosive cell containing one large secretory organelle called a cnidocyst (also known as a cnida () or nematocyst) that can deliver a sting to other organisms. The presence of this ce ...

Distribution and habitat

It is the dominant species of Ôjioya Port,

Tanegashima is one of the Ōsumi Islands belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 444.99 km2 in area, is the second largest of the Ōsumi Islands, and has a population of 33,000 people. Access to the island is by ferry, or by air to New ...

, Japan, the only place where this species has been found. ''Euphyllia paraglabrescens'' attaches to sandstone rock in shallow water at depths of 5 – 15 meters.

References

Euphylliidae Animals described in 1990 {{scleractinia-stub