''Pleuractis paumotensis'', commonly called plate coral, is a species of

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 ...

with a single large polyp. Plate coral are commonly kept in

marine aquaria A marine aquarium is an aquarium that keeps marine plants and animals in a contained environment. Marine aquaria are further subdivided by hobbyists into fish only (FO), fish only with live rock (FOWLR), and reef aquaria. Fish only tanks often sh ...

Description

''Pleuractis paumotensis'' is a solitary, non-colonial

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 free living and not attached to the

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

. It is an elongated oval in shape and can grow to a very large size. The polyp can be up to long ''Fungia scutaria''
Corals of the World online. Retrieved 2011-12-14. and is embedded in a cup shaped hollow known as a

corallite A corallite is the skeletal cup, formed by an individual stony coral polyp, in which the polyp sits and into which it can retract. The cup is composed of aragonite, a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, and is secreted by the polyp. Corallit ...

, surrounded by calcareous material. Lining this are narrow ribs known as

septa The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

. Outside the corallite wall the ribs continue, now known as costae, bearing rows of tiny spines. The colour is usually brown. The polyp has a central, slit-like mouth and a small number of short, tapering

tentacle In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

Distribution and habitat

''Pleuractis paumotensis'' occurs in the Indian Ocean on upper reef slopes especially where there is considerable movement of the water as a result of wave action. It is usually found on sand or beds of coral fragments. It is often associated with other species of ''

Fungia ''Fungia'' is a genus of corals in the family Fungiidae. It is monotypic with the single species ''Fungia fungites'', which is found growing on reefs in the Indo-Pacific. Taxonomy Until 2015, the genus ''Fungia'' had more than 30 species, but b ...

''.

References

Fungiidae Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean Marine fauna of Asia Corals described in 1833 {{scleractinia-stub