 : Stylasteridae
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Taxonomy: Stylasterina:
Stylasteridae
(Hydrocorals)
Body Form: Distichopora lacks internal circulation canals and has polyps, facing inward, along the sides of their skeleton. Stylaster has a reduced internal canal network for feeding with internal polyps for prey capture, but also has sweeper tentacles to aid in food capture.
Diet: The Distichopora and Stylaster) are nonphotosynthetic and supply their entire nutrition from microplankton.
Care Level: difficult
Natural History: Distichopora and Stylaster make up the Stylasteridae, which contain less potent toxin than their relatives the fire corals (Millepora). These two genera are not hermatypic (reef-building), lack symbiotic zooxanthellate algae, and do produce a skeleton. Hydrocoral skeletons are made of either aragonite or calcite. |
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