Duncanopsammia axifuga
Taxonomical systematics
Scientific name
Duncanopsammia axifuga (Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848)
Common names
Whisker Coral,
Genus
Duncanopsammia Wells, 1936
Family
Dendrophyllidae
Order
Scleractinia
Subclass
Zoantharia
Class
Anthozoa
Phylum
Cnidaria
Geological history
Fossil record
A doubtful record from the Miocene of the Pacific (Veron, 2000).
Local ecology
Distribution
Western and northern Australia and the South China Sea (Veron, 2000).
Habitat
Usually found in deeper water (over 20 m) in areas dominated by soft sand but attached to a solid substrate (Veron, 2000).
Biological characteristics
Description
Tentacles are extened both during the day and night (Veron, 1986; Veron, 2000). Tentacles grey to pale green and oral disc is blue to green.
Zooxanthellate
Ahermatypic
Duncanopsammia axifuga in Colin Keene's aquarium.
Close up of Duncanopsammia axifuga in Colin Keene's aquarium.
Skeletal structure
Corallum
Dendroid with long tubular corallites which face upwards (Veron, 1986).
Corallites
Round, 10-14 mm in diameter with well developed septa. The columellae are broad and deep seated (Veron, 2000).
Coenosteum
Porous (Veron, 1986; Veron, 2000)
Captive care
Lighting
Low to medium ligting consistant with its normal habitat. Borneman (2001) states they are adaptable to most lighting conditions.
Water flow
Gentle currents (Borneman, 2001).
Feeding
Should be fed regularly on any fleshy marine foods (Borneman, 2001). Choose food items that can fit into the mouth which expands from its normal resting size.
References
Borneman E.H. (2001) Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History. Microcosm Ltd, Charlotte, VT. 464pp
Veron J. (1986) Corals Of Australia And The Indo-Pacific . University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 644pp
Veron J.E.N. (2000) Corals of the World - Volumes 1, 2, 3. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Australia. 1382pp
Links
OZ REEF Marine Park: Resident Directory, Duncanopsammia axifuga