''Heteropsammia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of apozooxanthellate corals that belong to the family

Dendrophylliidae Dendrophylliidae is a family of stony corals. Most (but not all) members are azooxanthellate and thus have to capture food with their tentacles instead of relying on photosynthesis to produce their food. The World Register of Marine Species incl ...

Anatomy

These corals consist of free-living, single polyps, of a diameter of around 2.5 cm. They form a symbiotic relationship with a

sipunculid The Sipuncula or Sipunculida (common names sipunculid worms or peanut worms) is a class containing about 162 species of unsegmented marine annelid worms. The name ''Sipuncula'' is from the genus name ''Sipunculus'', and comes from the Latin ' ...

worm, '' Aspidosiphon corallicola''. The worm lives in a cavity situated on the under surface of the coral and it pulls the polip over sandy substrates. They also present a facultative symbiotic relationship with

zooxanthella Zooxanthellae is a colloquial term for single-celled dinoflagellates that are able to live in symbiosis with diverse marine invertebrates including demosponges, corals, jellyfish, and nudibranchs. Most known zooxanthellae are in the genus ''Symbi ...

e of the ''

Symbiodinium : ''This is about the genus sometimes called Zoox. For the company, see Zoox (company)'' ''Symbiodinium'' is a genus of dinoflagellates that encompasses the largest and most prevalent group of endosymbiotic dinoflagellates known. These unicellul ...

'' genus, as this link has been observed at shallow waters (under 40 m), but not at greater depths (where the corals live without the algae). ''Heteropsammia'' corals can sometimes establish symbiotic relationships with other marine species, such as hermit crabs, that live in the cavity where the endosymbiotic Sipunculid worm is usually located.

Nutrition

''Heteropsammia'' corals (of the species ''

Heteropsammia cochlea ''Heteropsammia cochlea'', also known as walking dendro, is a species of small solitary coral in the family Dendrophylliidae that is native to the Indo-Pacific area. Description This small solitary free-living coral, not more than 2.5 cm a ...

'') have been observed ingesting

salp A salp (plural salps, also known colloquially as “sea grape”) or salpa (plural salpae or salpas) is a barrel-shaped, planktic tunicate. It moves by contracting, thereby pumping water through its gelatinous body, one of the most efficient ...

s in Leuk Bay,

Koh Tao Ko Tao ( th, เกาะเต่า, , ) is an island in Thailand and is part of the Chumphon Archipelago on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand. It covers an area of about 21 km2 (8 sq mi). Administratively it is a subdistrict (''t ...

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...

, thanks to their large gape, as the salps were larger than the corals mouth opening.

Species

The following

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

are listed in the

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ...

(WoRMS): * ''

'' Spengler, 1781 * '' Heteropsammia eupsammides'' Gray, 1849 * '' Heteropsammia moretonensis'' Wells, 1964

Notes and references

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3952388 Dendrophylliidae Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Cnidarian genera