Danafungia scruposa is a species of
coral found in the eastern and western Indian Ocean, the eastern central, northwestern and western central Pacific Ocean, Japan, the East China Sea, the Red Sea, and eastern Australia. It is around 25 centimetres (9.8 inches) in diameter and normally consumes a variety of food from bacteria to
mesozooplankton measuring 1 mm (0.039 in) in diameter. During an
algal bloom in 2009, researchers observed
D. scruposa consuming the jellyfish
Aurelia aurita, the first time such behaviour had been seen in the wild. This
D. scruposa coral was photographed in the Red Sea off the Egyptian coast.
Photograph credit: Diego Delso