Prof. Michael Schleyer, Südafrika
Info
Ovabunda faraunensis is a soft coral from the xenia family.
Colonies of Ovabunda faraunensis can occur in rather extensive clumps and the tentacles are pinnate.
The genera Ovabunda and Xenia can only be decisively distinguished by microscopic examination.
Both have peduncles that are often divided and polyps on a distinct capitulum.
Ovabunda tends to be paler and firmer in texture than Xenia and not as soft and slimy.
The family Xeniidae (Octocorallia) is an important component of the benthos in many coral reefs of the Indo-West Pacific and is ecologically important in the Red Sea. The genus Ovabunda was recently established to include earlier Xenia species with sclerites consisting of a mass of minute corpuscular microscleres.
There are different statements in the literature about whether Ovabunda faraunensis can pulsate or not.
We would like to thank Dr. Michael Schleyer for the first two photos of the coral Ovabunda faraunensis.
Synonym: Xenia faraunensis Verseveldt & Cohen, 1971
Colonies of Ovabunda faraunensis can occur in rather extensive clumps and the tentacles are pinnate.
The genera Ovabunda and Xenia can only be decisively distinguished by microscopic examination.
Both have peduncles that are often divided and polyps on a distinct capitulum.
Ovabunda tends to be paler and firmer in texture than Xenia and not as soft and slimy.
The family Xeniidae (Octocorallia) is an important component of the benthos in many coral reefs of the Indo-West Pacific and is ecologically important in the Red Sea. The genus Ovabunda was recently established to include earlier Xenia species with sclerites consisting of a mass of minute corpuscular microscleres.
There are different statements in the literature about whether Ovabunda faraunensis can pulsate or not.
We would like to thank Dr. Michael Schleyer for the first two photos of the coral Ovabunda faraunensis.
Synonym: Xenia faraunensis Verseveldt & Cohen, 1971
