WHAT CORAL SPECIES YOU CAN SEE IN PHU QUOC ISLAND, VIETNAM?

OnBird does provide documentaries about those coral species in Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam (27 Jan 2020)

Please note that: All the photos of corals & snorkeling & diving on the website are credit to OnBird Phu Quoc, please dont reshare and repost the photo without our permission

It is believed that Phu Quoc hosts 260 different coral species, OnBird has been documenting them in this article.

1. Knotted Fan Coral 

Knotted Fan Coral grows in tree-like fans on coral reefs, colonies vary in colour but tend to be shades of yellow, orange, red and white, sometimes with contrasting colours for the calyces and polyps. It is an azooxanthellate coral and does not contain symbiotic unicellular algae in its tissues. In Phu Quoc, these corals are found at North-east Coral Reef and Coral Jungle Reef. (Read more)

2. Flowerpot Coral

Goniopora, often called flowerpot coral, is a genus of colonial stony coral found in lagoons and turbid water conditions.

Goniopora have numerous daisy-like polyps that extend outward from the base, each tipped with 24 stinging tentacles which surrounds a mouth. In the South of Phu Quoc Island, we can find very huge-size flowerpot coral colonies such as the Coral Hill and the biggest one at the Coral Steep Reef.

3. Toadstool Mushroom Leather Coral

Toadstool Leather Coral is one of the most popular soft corals in Phu Quoc Island, Toadstool Leather Coral are shaped like a mushroom. Sarcophyton glaucum, also known as toadstool leather coral or rough leather coral, is a common species of soft coral found from the Red Sea to western Pacific Ocean and Phu Quoc Island in particular at the Shallow Reef, Half-moon Reef, North-east Coral Reef and Coral Jungle Reef.

4. Finger Leather Coral

Sinularia polydactyla, known as Finger Leather Coral, is a species of soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae. Bio-active isolates called durumolides have been found in all samples of this coral. The Finger Leather Coral is very aggressive, they are toxic toward other corals due to their release of terpenes (poisons to ward off encroaching corals). They have been known to harm some stony coral species of Acropora like the Staghorn Acropora. In Phu Quoc Island, we can find Finger Leather Coral-covered walls and rocks at the Half-moon Reef.

5. Carnation Coral (one of the most beautiful soft coral)

The Carnation Tree Coral or Dendronephthya Carnation is one of the most beautiful and peaceful corals, and is also known as the Cauliflower Soft Coral. Oftentimes, variations of these common names (such as flower tree coral) are applied to the similar and closely related genus Scleronephthya. Colonies of rather miniscule polyps form highly branched structures that can reach a meter in height. They may be richly pigmented; color varies considerably, but exquisite pink, orange and lavender hues are common.

It does not contain the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae, therefore, its diet should include live, baby brine shrimp, micro-plankton, and other small foods designed for filter feeding invertebrates, in order to survive in the reef aquarium. These foods must be available almost constantly. In Phu Quoc Island, we can see this coral at the Half-moon Reef and the Isolated Rock Reef.

6. Plate Coral

7. Lace Coral (Cauliflower Coral)

Pocillopora damicornis, commonly known as the Cauliflower coral or Lace coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It is native to tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Pocillopora damicornis is a colonial coral and can grow into clumps up to 30 cm (12 in) high. It is distinguishable from other members of the genus by the verrucae (wart-like growths) on its surface being more irregularly arranged. It is more branched than the otherwise similar P. verrucosa. Its form varies according to its habitat and is more open and branched in calm positions and more compact on the upper parts of reefs where water movement is greater. Its colour varies and may be greenish, pink, yellowish-brown or pale brown. In Phu Quoc Lace Coral or Cauliflower coral is one of the most abundant species with a wide variety of colors.

In Phu Quoc we can see these Lace corals in purple colors, green colors at the Coral Steep, North-east Coral Reef and especially gardens of Lace Corals at the Coral Jungle Reef.

8. Salad Coral

Turbinaria mesenterina, commonly known as Disc coral or Salad Coral, is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Dendrophylliidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being “vulnerable”.

Turbinaria mesenterina is encrusting or forms flat or vase-shaped plates with corallites only on one side. The corallites are conical and about 2 mm (0.08 in) in diameter. This coral is quite variable in form, depending on depth and water conditions. In Phu Quoc we can see many of this coral at the North-east Coral Reef.

8. Lettuce Coral (Echinopora lamellosa)

In Phu Quoc, we almost just see Lettuce Coral at the Half-moon Reef, it is a garden of this coral speices. Lettuce Colonies are thin laminae arranged in whorls or tiers or, rarely, forming tubes. Stands over 5 metres across are not unusual. Corallites are relatively thin walled and small (2.5-4 mm diameter). Columellae are small and compact, and paliform lobes are well developed.

At the Half-moon Reef, Phu Quoc, this coral lives at the depth of 2 3m, shallow water.

9. Leaf Coral (Pavona Decussata) Vulnerable Globally (IUCN Red List)

Pavona is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Agariciidae. These corals are found in shallow waters in the Indo-Pacific region and Phu Quoc Island in particular. Corals in this Pavona genus (Cactus, Leaf, Lettuce Coral…) in general have a range of different forms including those that are massive, meandering, columnar, leaf-like, and plate-like. A single species may vary in form according to the current, wave action, lighting conditions, and depth of its location.

10. Leaf Coral (Pavona Frondifera)

Pavona frondifera Colony composed of a mixture of horizontal laminae and upright fronds. … Pavona frondifera Upright contorted fronds of a large colony.

 

11. Table Coral or Brush Coral (Acropora hyacinthus) Near threatened (NT) (IUCN Red List)

Corals that form broad horizontal surfaces are commonly called table corals. This pattern of growth increases the exposed surface area of the coral to the water column. Polyps are provided greater access to light for their zooxanthellae and it is easier for them to feed on zooplankton with their tentacles. In Phu Quoc we can find large table garden at the Shallow Reef, the Coral Jungle Reef and some of big size table corals at the Coral Steep and North-east Coral Reef.

Acropora hyacinthus occurs in plate- or table-shaped wide colonies that consist of a number of thin branches in a lattice structure. It has strongly inclined branchlets. A. hyacinthus has axial dominant branches, i.e. each branch has a large dominant axial corallite with much smaller cup-shaped radial corallites. The corallites on specimens of Acropora hyacinthus are often darker than the main branch structure. The species looks similar to many tabular Acropora species and is often misidentified in the field.

12. Fiat Plate-like Coral (Lithophyllon undulatum) Near Threatened (NT) (IUCN Red List)

Flat plate-like Coral or Lithophyllon undulatum, attached at the base with a stalk but wavy with lobes at the edges. May also be encrusting. The corallites form a distinctive pattern of thick parallel lines perpendicular to the edge. There is a ‘waist’ in the parallel lines at the mouth of the corallite, i.e., the parallel lines merge at regular intervals. The walls are thick with fine ‘teeth’.

13. Massive Horn Coral (Hydnophora microconosiat) Near Threatened (NT) (IUCN Red List)

Massive Horn Coral has large, massive colonies which are always rounded and without the foliaceous or branched projections of Hydnophora exesa. The surface is covered with neat, regular monticules, which are smaller than in H. exesa, being <2 to 5 mm diameter. The species is common in shallow, exposed water and it is very rarely found below 10 m deep. It is a constant component of the reef crest community on all but extremely exposed reefs, and on these it is merely displaced into deeper pockets on the reef flat and into water 2 – 5 m deep. Colonies are massive, rounded, with hydnophores 2-3 mm in diameter. Colour: dull cream, brown or green. Abundance: seldom common, occurs primarily in lagoons and on protected reef slopes.

In Phu Quoc this coral speices can be found at almost coral reefs.

14. Bamboo Coral (Genus Rumphella)

To be found at the North-east Coral Reef and Half-moon Reef, this is one of the rare coral species in Phu Quoc Island. The skeletons of bamboo coral are made up of calcium carbonate in the form of tree-like branches alternating with joint-like nodes or axes composed of gorgonin protein. The alternation of the bony structures with the smaller gorgonin parts give the bamboo coral a finger-like appearance similar to that of the bamboo plant on land.

These organisms may be an important environmental indicator in the study of long term climate change, as some specimens of bamboo coral have been discovered that are 4,000 years old.

15. Honeycomb Coral (Diploastrea heliopora) Near Threatened” Globally (Source: IUCN Red List)

The largest Honeycomb Coral was found at the Half-moon Reef, South Phu Quoc Island (An Thoi archipelago) with massive size of 3.4 m in height and 6m in long. Diploastrea heliopora, commonly known as diploastrea brain coral or Honeycomb Coral among other vernacular names, is a species of hard coral in the family Diploastreidae. It is the only extant species in its genus. This species can form massive dome-shaped colonies of great size.

Honeycomb Coral grows into domes 1 metre or more across. The corallites are plocoid (with an individual wall), round and closely packed, about 1 cm in diameter and formed by extratentacular budding. The corallite walls are distinctive, being not solid but formed from the enlarged outer ends of the septa, which are not connected to each other. The columellae are large. The coral has a smooth surface and is usually cream or greyish-brown, sometimes tinged with green. It is a zooxanthellate species.

16. Greater Maze Corals (Genus Platygyra) or Maze Brain Coral

The Maze Brain Coral is truly gorgeous with its broad twisting, turning walls and valleys. The Maze Brain Coral is truly gorgeous with its broad twisting, turning walls and valleys.

The Maze Brain Coral Platygyra speices has beautifully contrasting walls and valleys. In the wild they form massive colonies that can be either flat or dome shaped. They are thought to be more recently evolved corals, with some of the species differences being more difficult to separate unless they are observed in the same location.

The Platygyra genus in general and Maze Brain Coral in particular is one of those great corals that will keep its original color under various lighting intensities. Typically the walls are brown or dark gray with the valleys being gray or green, though there is a wide variation of the colors. They can range from red and green or white and chocolate brown color combinations.

The Platygyra genus are commonly meandroid, meaning they develop valleys. On occasion they may also have cerioid, meaning shared walls, mixed in. Some common names these corals are know for are Maze Brain Coral, Brain Coral, Closed Brain Coral, Ridge Coral, Worm Coral, Maze Coral, Brain Worm Platygyra Coral, and Green Maze Coral.

17. Mushroom Coral (Fungia fungites) Near Threatened” Globally (Source: IUCN Red List)

Until 2015, the genus Fungia had more than 30 species, but based on recent studies it has now been reduced to a single species. Fungia or Mushroom Coral is a genus of corals in the family Fungiidae. It is monotypic with the single species Fungia fungites, which is found growing on reefs in the Indo-Pacific. In Phu Quoc we are witnessing a decrease in number of this type of coral at coral reefs.

Corals of Fungia fungites are mostly solitary, some attaining 30 centimetres in diameter. The juveniles attach themselves to rock but larger individuals detach themselves and become free living. They are found in various bright colours including white, pink, red, purple, blue and yellow. The discs are either round or oval and the central mouth, which is surrounded by tentacles, may be a slit. The polyp sits in a calcareous cup, the corallite.

18. Staghorn Coral (Table, Elkhorn, and Staghorn Corals Genus Acropora)

Depending on the species and location, Acropora species may grow as plates or slender or broad branches. Like other corals, Acropora corals are colonies of individual polyps, which are about 2 mm across and share tissue and a nerve net. The polyps can withdraw back into the coral in response to movement or disturbance by potential predators, but when undisturbed, they protrude slightly. The polyps typically extend further at night to help capture plankton and organic matter from the water.

Staghorn coral is found throughout Phu Quoc Island, but this is also a kind of rarely-seen coral here, we can see this coral at the Coral Steep and Coral Jungle Reef.

19. Magnificent Sea Anemone (Ritteri anemone) 

Heteractis magnifica, also known by the common names Magnificent Sea Anemone or Ritteri anemone, is a species of sea anemone belonging to the Stichodactylidae family native to the Indo-Pacific area. In Phu Quoc we can see large garden of Magnificent Sea Anemone at the North-east Coral Reef and Half-moon Reef. Pink Skunk Clownfish is the most typical clownfish live with them in Phu Quoc.

The magnificent sea anemone is characterized by a flared oral disc, which reaches between 20 and 50 cm in diameter, but in some specimens, this can reach 1 m. The oral disc, the base of the tentacles, and the oral orifice have the same color, going from light beige to white.

The numerous tentacles exceed 8 cm long. The sea anemone, being a member of the Hexacorallia, usually carries tentacles in multiples of six that are positioned in concentric circles. Their tips are fingered and often lighter in coloration than the tentacle body and are sometimes vividly colored.

Its specific scientific name, magnifica, and its vernacular name come from the bright color of the column, which is the visible outer structure when the animal retracts, and these range from electric blue to green, red, pink, purple, or brown.

The magnificent sea anemone has two feeding methods. The first one is through the photosynthesis of its symbiotic zooxanthellae, living in its tissues. The second method is through using its tentacles to stun, immobilize, and consume prey (small invertebrates, fry, or juvenile fish).

20. Carpet Anemone (Stichodactyla Gigantea)

Stichodactyla gigantea, commonly known as the giant Carpet Anemone, is a species of sea anemone that lives in the Indo-Pacific area in general including Phu Quoc, this is a kind of rarely-seen anemone in Phu Quoc, we can see them at the Shallow Reef, Coral Jungle Reef.

Stichodactyla gigantea has a diameter that is usually no larger than 50 centimeters and a maximum of 80 centimeters. It can appear in many colors, commonly brown or greenish and rarely a striking purple or pink, deep blue, or bright green. A healthy Carpet Anemone will possess tentacles that are extremely sticky to the touch, with firm adherence to surfaces.

21. Bubble Coral (Plerogyra sinuosa) Near Threatened” Globally (Source: IUCN Red List)

Plerogyra sinuosa is a jelly-like species of the phylum Cnidaria. It is commonly called “bubble coral” due to its bubbly appearance. The “bubbles” are grape-sized which increase their surface area according to the amount of light available: they are larger during the day, but smaller during the night, when tentacles reach out to capture food. This species requires low light and a gentle water flow. Common names for Plerogyra sinuosa include “grape coral”, bladder coral, and pearl coral. According to the IUCN, Plerogyra sinuosa ranges from the Red Sea and Madagascar in the western Indian Ocean to Okinawa and the Line Islands in the Pacific. The photo of Bubble Coral bellow was captured at the Coral Garden Reef, one of the selected snorkeling spots by OnBird.

It is pretty rare to see this coral in Phu Quoc nowadays.

22. Plate & Pillar Coral (Porites rus)

In the Phu Quoc Island, you will see these large coral colonies of Plate & Pillar corals in the Half-moon Reef and North-east Coral Reef.

To be updating… by OnBird