Malcolm Francis, permission by Gerald McCormack, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Info
The colloquially named ‘red coral’ (Errina novaezelandiae) is not real coral, but a related species – a hydrocoral.
It is a colonial animal consisting of individual organisms, each with its own feeding and defence system.
Hydrocorals normally only grow in the deep sea, but in the fjords of south-western New Zealand, red coral grows there in very large numbers.
The colonies form a single plane and can reach a height of 17 cm and a diameter of 20-30 cm.
The branches occasionally grow together and sometimes form plates; the colonies are red or red-orange with white branch cores and tips.
Habitat:
This species is endemic to New Zealand and occurs in Fiordland, the Snares Islands and off the Auckland Islands. It is quite common in the fjords, with tens of thousands of red corals found in the deep waters off Fiordland by researchers working on a project to study and map the region's marine fauna.
Errina novaezelandiae can grow at high rates (e.g. 7 cm per year, although net growth is lower at 0.7 cm per year), so large corals (defined as those > 20 cm in size) are more than 30 years old.
In New Zealand, Errina novaezelandiae is protected and it is illegal to collect it, yet it is listed in CITES category 2 (trade in this species requires an export permit from the country of origin).
We would like to thank Malcolm P. Francis, New Zealand, for the first photo of this species.
Synonyms:
Errina (Errina) cruenta Boschma, 1968 · unaccepted (synonymy)
Errina (Errina) novaezelandiae Hickson, 1912 · unaccepted (changed combination)
Errina (Eu-Errina) novaezelandiae Hickson, 1912 · unaccepted (changed combination)
Errina (Labiopora) novaezelandiae Hickson, 1912 · unaccepted (changed combination)
Errina (Labiopora) novaezelandiae f. benhami Hickson, 1912 · unaccepted (synonymy)
Errina (Labiopora) novaezelandiae f. ramosa Hickson, 1912 · unaccepted (synonymy)
Errina cruenta Boschma, 1968 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
It is a colonial animal consisting of individual organisms, each with its own feeding and defence system.
Hydrocorals normally only grow in the deep sea, but in the fjords of south-western New Zealand, red coral grows there in very large numbers.
The colonies form a single plane and can reach a height of 17 cm and a diameter of 20-30 cm.
The branches occasionally grow together and sometimes form plates; the colonies are red or red-orange with white branch cores and tips.
Habitat:
This species is endemic to New Zealand and occurs in Fiordland, the Snares Islands and off the Auckland Islands. It is quite common in the fjords, with tens of thousands of red corals found in the deep waters off Fiordland by researchers working on a project to study and map the region's marine fauna.
Errina novaezelandiae can grow at high rates (e.g. 7 cm per year, although net growth is lower at 0.7 cm per year), so large corals (defined as those > 20 cm in size) are more than 30 years old.
In New Zealand, Errina novaezelandiae is protected and it is illegal to collect it, yet it is listed in CITES category 2 (trade in this species requires an export permit from the country of origin).
We would like to thank Malcolm P. Francis, New Zealand, for the first photo of this species.
Synonyms:
Errina (Errina) cruenta Boschma, 1968 · unaccepted (synonymy)
Errina (Errina) novaezelandiae Hickson, 1912 · unaccepted (changed combination)
Errina (Eu-Errina) novaezelandiae Hickson, 1912 · unaccepted (changed combination)
Errina (Labiopora) novaezelandiae Hickson, 1912 · unaccepted (changed combination)
Errina (Labiopora) novaezelandiae f. benhami Hickson, 1912 · unaccepted (synonymy)
Errina (Labiopora) novaezelandiae f. ramosa Hickson, 1912 · unaccepted (synonymy)
Errina cruenta Boschma, 1968 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
