Catalaphyllia
| Elegance coral | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Subphylum: | Anthozoa |
| Class: | Hexacorallia |
| Order: | Scleractinia |
| Family: | Euphylliidae |
| Genus: | Catalaphyllia Wells, 1971 |
| Species: | C. jardinei |
| Binomial name | |
| Catalaphyllia jardinei (Saville-Kent, 1893) | |
| Synonyms | |
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List (Species)
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Catalaphyllia is a monotypic genus of stony coral in the family Euphylliidae from the western Pacific Ocean. It is represented by a single species, Catalaphyllia jardinei, commonly known as elegance coral (or wonder coral, ridge coral). It was first described by William Saville-Kent in 1893 as Pectinia jardinei.
Because of its unique and beautiful look, this coral is popular in reef tanks. It is an overexploited species collected in large quantities from the wild for the aquarium trade, although effects of climate change like bleaching (resultant from increasing water temperature) and more frequent severe storms remain the main threats to the species.