Ctenactis echinata

Ctenactis echinata is a free-living species of solitary disc coral in the family Fungiidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region. This is a common species throughout its wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

Ctenactis echinata
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Cnidaria
Subphylum:	Anthozoa
Class:	Hexacorallia
Order:	Scleractinia
Family:	Fungiidae
Genus:	Ctenactis
Species:	C. echinata
Binomial name
Ctenactis echinata (Pallas, 1766) [2]
Synonyms
List Fungia asperata Dana, 1846 Fungia echinata (Pallas, 1766) Fungia ehrenbergi (Leuckart, 1841) Fungia gigantea Dana, 1846 Fungia pectinata Ehrenberg, 1834 Haliglossa echinata (Pallas, 1766) Herpetolithas ehrenbergii Leuckart, 1841 Herpetolithas ruepellii Leuckart, 1841 Madrepora echinata Pallas, 1766

Description

Ctenactis echinata is a medium to large oval disc coral, growing to a length of about 25 cm (10 in) and a width of 10 cm (4 in). It has an axial furrow extending along most of its length with usually a single mouth opening, but occasionally there may be more than one. The primary septa are thick and heavily toothed with large triangular teeth. In between them are one to five secondary septa, smaller and lightly toothed. A large individual may have more than a thousand septa. The costae, on the underside of the coral, are poorly defined and have long arborescent or cylindrical spines arranged in radial rows. The colour of this coral is usually pale brown.^[3]

Distribution and habitat

Ctenactis echinata is native to the Indo-Pacific region. Its range extends from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean to China, Japan, Indonesia and northern Australia, as well as various island groups in the western and central Pacific Ocean. It is found on reef flats and slopes and in lagoons to depths of 20 m (66 ft).^[1]