Ivory bush coral

Not to be confused with diffuse ivory bush coral.

Ivory bush coral
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hexacorallia
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Oculinidae
Genus: Oculina
Species:
O. varicosa
Binomial name
Oculina varicosa
Synonyms[3]
  • Oculina varicosa var. conigera Verrill, 1902

Oculina varicosa, or the ivory bush coral, is a scleractinian deep-water coral primarily found at depths of 70-100m, and ranges from Bermuda and Cape Hatteras to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.[4] Oculina varicosa flourishes at the Oculina Bank off the east coast of Florida, where coral thickets house a variety of marine organisms.[5] The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service considers Oculina a genus of concern, due to the threat of rapid ocean warming.[6] Species of concern are those species about which the U.S. Government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service, has some concerns regarding status and threats, but for which insufficient information is available to indicate a need to list the species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act[7] (ESA). While Oculina is considered a more robust genus in comparison to tropical corals, rising ocean temperatures continue to threaten coral health across the planet.[8]

  1. ^ Miller, M.; Feingold, J.; Crabbe, J.; Vermeij, M.. (2022). "Oculina varicosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T133165A165750403.
  2. ^ LeSueur, C.A. (1820). Description de plusiers animaux appartenant aux polypiers lamellifères de M. le Chev. Lamarck. Mémoires du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. 7: 271-298, pls. 15-17.
  3. ^ Hoeksema, B. W.; Cairns, S. (2019). World List of Scleractinia. Oculina varicosa Le Sueur, 1820. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=287102 on 2019-04-30
  4. ^ NOAA Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources. "Proactive Conservation Program: Species of Concern". Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  5. ^ Barnette, M (2006). "Observations of the deep-water coral Oculina varicosa in the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-535". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  6. ^ "Oculina Habitat Area of Particular Concern". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2018.
  7. ^ "Endangered Species Act (ESA)". noaa.gov.
  8. ^ Aichelman, Hannah (2016). "Heterotrophy mitigates the response of the temperate coral Oculina arbuscula to temperature stress". Ecology and Evolution. 6 (18): 6758–6769. doi:10.1002/ece3.2399. PMC 5058543. PMID 27777745.