No photo available
Branched cup coral
Blastomussa merleti
Valid name (WoRMS, AphiaID 207385, checked 2026-10-31).
- English
- Branched cup coral
- Scientific
- Blastomussa merleti
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Hard corals
- Depth and habitat
- Reef-associated, recorded from 0 to 40 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2023CITES Appendix II
Description
A coral that forms clusters of small, round, fleshy polyps on short tubular stalks, often in red, green or brown. It grows in shaded, sheltered places on reef slopes, under overhangs and in lagoons. It is easily missed because colonies are small and tucked into crevices.
In the Maldives
Recorded from the Maldives: iNaturalist research-grade observations in the Maldives (n=2); literature records via OBIS (Hexacorallians of the World (Fautin 2013)); SeaLifeBase Maldives checklist.
Sources
- sealifebase.se /summary/Blastomussa-merleti.html
- marinespecies.org /aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=207385
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Blastomussa_merleti,_Nueva_Caledonia.JPG
Dhivehi name source: No species-level Dhivehi name found in Dhivehi Wikipedia, SeaLifeBase (country: Maldives) or MRS/MMRI invertebrate publications.