Euphyllia ancora

Vernon and Pichon, 1980

Hammer Coral, Anchor Coral

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Maldives to Japan, and south to Australia.

Natural Environment: Inhabits shallow turbid environments exposed to gentle wave action and usually seen at depths between 15 to 130 feet (5 - 40 m).

General Husbandry: Tentacles are tipped with a T-shaped projection similar to Thor's hammer. Thus the name Anchor or Hammer Coral.

See Euphyllia divisa for recommended aquarium husbandry, yet WM 1 - 2 is preferred.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Cnidaria

Class: Anthozoa

Subclass: Hexacorallia

Order: Scleractinia

Family: Euphyllidae

Genus: Euphyllia

FYI: Colonies may form large growths over wide areas and have similar structure as E. divisa, and in the wild usually pale cream or green outer edges of the tentacles a different color.

Photo of this species in the wild is provided free via the courtesy of Wikimedia.