| Organ pipe coral | |
|---|---|
| |
| Live organ pipe coral | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Octocorallia |
| Order: | Malacalcyonacea |
| Family: | Tubiporidae |
| Genus: | Tubipora |
| Species: | T. musica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Tubipora musica | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The organ pipe coral (Tubipora musica) is an alcyonarian octocoral native to the waters of the Indian Ocean and the central and western regions of the Pacific Ocean.[1] It is the only known species of the genus Tubipora. This species is a soft coral but with a unique, hard skeleton of calcium carbonate that contains many organ pipe-like tubes. On each tube is a series of polyps which each have eight feather-like tentacles. These tentacles are usually extended during the day, but will swiftly withdraw with any sort of disturbance. The skeleton is a bright red color, but is typically obscured by numerous polyps. Because of this, living colonies are typically green, blue, or purple due to the color of the expanded polyps.[2] Colonies are typically dome-shaped and can reach up to 3 meters across,[2][3] while the individual polyps are typically less than 3 mm wide and a few mm long. They are close relatives to other soft coral and sea fans. This species is a popular aquarium coral due to its ease to maintain, as well as higher tolerance compared to most true corals.[4] However, its popularity presents a problem: along with its potential as an aquarium coral, the species' coloration makes it a popular commodity for tourists, leading to a variety of threats to the population.
- ^ Ammar, Mohammed S. A. (2005-05-26). "An alarming threat to the red organ pipe coral Tubipora musica and suggested solutions". Ecological Research. 20 (5): 529–535. doi:10.1007/s11284-005-0064-7. ISSN 0912-3814. S2CID 44760888.
- ^ a b ANDERSON, PETER A. V. (June 1976). "The electrophysiology of the organ-pipe coral, Tubipora musica". The Biological Bulletin. 150 (3): 337–347. doi:10.2307/1540676. ISSN 0006-3185. JSTOR 1540676. PMID 8160.
- ^ Felix., Spiro, Baruch (1971). Ultrastructure and chemistry of the skeleton of Tubipora musica Linné. OCLC 633208230.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Tullock, John (2001). Natural reef aquariums : simplified approaches to creating living saltwater microcosms. TFH-Microcosm. ISBN 1-890087-00-9. OCLC 1011858098.