Kingdom Animalia Class Anthozoa Family Euphylliidae | Phylum Cnidaria Order Scleractinia Rank Species | |
Genus Gyrosmilia
Milne-Edwards, & Haime, 1851 Similar Ctenella, Coscinaraea, Meandrinidae, Podabacia, Ctenella chagius | ||
Gyrosmilia interrupta is a large polyp stony coral. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Gyrosmilia. It was first described by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1834 as Manicina interruptai.
Contents
Description
It is known to have a "distinctive uniform greenish grey-brown" color. Colonies are either submassive humps or laminar in shape with free margins up to 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) wide. Gyrosmilia interrupts has tentacles that extend only at night.
Distribution & habitat
It can be found in scattered pockets throughout eastern African islands and coastline such as Madagascar, Eritrea, the Aldabran atoll, Réunion, Kenya, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa, and parts of the Red Sea in uncommon abundance.
It prefers shallow coral reefs that are protected from strong surface wave action.