Paul Gerhard Rohleder, Deutschland
Info
The following images and notes were provided by Paul-Gerhard Rohleder: I spotted this grey-blue color morph of a *Stolonifera* tube coral at "Fish and more" in Mudersbach. It does not seem to appear in the trade very often.
Perhaps, in time, we will succeed in precisely identifying this lovely species.
General information:
Tube corals (*Stolonifera*) are a suborder of soft corals (Alcyonacea). Some regard them merely as an informal group for practical reasons. The order *Stolonifera* encompasses all soft corals whose polyps do not form a thick layer of tissue as a shared living mass; instead, they sprout from a thin basal network. Individual runners (stolons) form here. The colonized substrate is usually overgrown across its surface, leading to the formation of new colony sections and, subsequently, new polyps. To date, five genera are known within the family Clavulariidae.
The following families are classified as tube corals. Family Acrossotidae Bourne, 1914
Genus Acrossota Bourne, 1914
Family Clavulariidae Hickson, 1894
Genus Azoria Lopez-Gonzalez & Gili, 2001[1]
Genus Bathytelesto Bayer, 1981
Genus Carijoa Mueller, 1867
Genus Cervera Lopez-Gonzalez, Ocana, Garcia-Gomez & Nunez, 1995
Genus Clavularia de Blainville, 1830
Genus Cryptophyton Williams, 2000
Genus Cyathopodium Verrill, 1868
Genus Denhartogia Ocaña & van Ofwegen, 2003
Genus Incrustatus Van Ofwegen, Häussermann & Försterra, 2006[2]
Genus Knopia Alderslade 2007
Genus Moolabalia Alderslade, 2001
Genus Paratelesto Utinomi, 1958
Genus Pseudocladochonus Versluys, 1907
Genus Rhodelinda Bayer, 1981
Genus Sarcodictyon Forbes, 1847
Genus Scleranthelia Studer, 1878
Genus Scyphopodium Bayer, 1981
Genus Stereosoma Hickson, 1894
Genus Stereotelesto Bayer, 1981
Genus Telesto Lamouroux, 1812
Genus Telestula Madsen, 1944
Genus Tesseranthelia Bayer, 1981
Family Coelogorgiidae Bourne, 1900
Genus Coelogorgia Milne-Edwards, 1857
Family Cornulariidae Dana, 1846
Genus Cornularia Lamarck, 1816
Family Pseudogorgiidae Utinomi & Harada, 1973
Genus Pseudogorgia Koelliker, 1870 (with one species)
Family Tubiporidae Ehrenberg, 1828
Genus Tubipora Linnaeus, 1758
*Clavularia* is traditionally classified among the stoloniferan corals (Stolonifera), a group now often considered paraphyletic. According to a cladistic study, they are the sister group to the largest Octocorallia clade, which primarily comprises genera of true soft corals (Alcyoniina) and the gorgonian-like Holaxonia. In total, more than 250 *Clavularia* species have been described.
Perhaps, in time, we will succeed in precisely identifying this lovely species.
General information:
Tube corals (*Stolonifera*) are a suborder of soft corals (Alcyonacea). Some regard them merely as an informal group for practical reasons. The order *Stolonifera* encompasses all soft corals whose polyps do not form a thick layer of tissue as a shared living mass; instead, they sprout from a thin basal network. Individual runners (stolons) form here. The colonized substrate is usually overgrown across its surface, leading to the formation of new colony sections and, subsequently, new polyps. To date, five genera are known within the family Clavulariidae.
The following families are classified as tube corals. Family Acrossotidae Bourne, 1914
Genus Acrossota Bourne, 1914
Family Clavulariidae Hickson, 1894
Genus Azoria Lopez-Gonzalez & Gili, 2001[1]
Genus Bathytelesto Bayer, 1981
Genus Carijoa Mueller, 1867
Genus Cervera Lopez-Gonzalez, Ocana, Garcia-Gomez & Nunez, 1995
Genus Clavularia de Blainville, 1830
Genus Cryptophyton Williams, 2000
Genus Cyathopodium Verrill, 1868
Genus Denhartogia Ocaña & van Ofwegen, 2003
Genus Incrustatus Van Ofwegen, Häussermann & Försterra, 2006[2]
Genus Knopia Alderslade 2007
Genus Moolabalia Alderslade, 2001
Genus Paratelesto Utinomi, 1958
Genus Pseudocladochonus Versluys, 1907
Genus Rhodelinda Bayer, 1981
Genus Sarcodictyon Forbes, 1847
Genus Scleranthelia Studer, 1878
Genus Scyphopodium Bayer, 1981
Genus Stereosoma Hickson, 1894
Genus Stereotelesto Bayer, 1981
Genus Telesto Lamouroux, 1812
Genus Telestula Madsen, 1944
Genus Tesseranthelia Bayer, 1981
Family Coelogorgiidae Bourne, 1900
Genus Coelogorgia Milne-Edwards, 1857
Family Cornulariidae Dana, 1846
Genus Cornularia Lamarck, 1816
Family Pseudogorgiidae Utinomi & Harada, 1973
Genus Pseudogorgia Koelliker, 1870 (with one species)
Family Tubiporidae Ehrenberg, 1828
Genus Tubipora Linnaeus, 1758
*Clavularia* is traditionally classified among the stoloniferan corals (Stolonifera), a group now often considered paraphyletic. According to a cladistic study, they are the sister group to the largest Octocorallia clade, which primarily comprises genera of true soft corals (Alcyoniina) and the gorgonian-like Holaxonia. In total, more than 250 *Clavularia* species have been described.
