Brain coral
Platygyra daedalea
Brain coral forms rounded or encrusting colonies on shallow, sunlit reefs across the Indo-Pacific. Its maze-like ridges shelter tiny polyps that extend feeding tentacles, especially at night, to capture zooplankton and suspended organic particles. Symbiotic algae supply much of its energy in clear water. The colony slowly builds a hard calcium-carbonate skeleton that can persist for centuries.
- Type
- Water / Shell
- Conservation status
- LC
Growth chain
- ?
- ?
- Brain coral