Devonshire Cup Coral

Cnidarian

Identification & Biology

• IdentificationA small, solitary cup-shaped stony coral with a circular, chalky white skeleton and translucent tentacles that expand to feed, usually at night. The skeleton is conical and attached directly to rock. Tentacles may be pale orange, pink, white, or green.
• SizeSkeleton diameter up to 3 cm. Height up to 2 cm.
• Social HabitSolitary. Found singly or in scattered groups on shaded rock surfaces. Unlike tropical corals, it does not form colonies or reefs.
• HabitatRocky walls, cave ceilings, overhangs, and any shaded hard surface. Avoids direct sunlight.
• Depth1 to 100 m. Found throughout its depth range on suitable shaded substrates.
• Feeds OnPlankton and suspended organic particles captured by its tentacles, primarily at night.
• DistributionEastern Atlantic from the British Isles to West Africa, and throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Common in Maltese waters.
• DescriptionCaryophyllia smithii is one of the few stony corals native to the Mediterranean that can be encountered by divers. Each individual is a single polyp living in a chalky white cup-shaped skeleton. When the tentacles are retracted during the day, only the white cup is visible. At night, the polyp expands a ring of delicate tentacles to feed, transforming from a bare skeleton into a living flower.