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Golden zoanthid
Parazoanthus swiftii
(Duchassaing de Fonbressin & Michelotti, 1860)
Code
Summary
Saltwater. Zoanthids. This colonial zoanthid is symbiotic and grows in
band-like rows, often winding around the branches of the host sponge.
To be confused with
- Maroon Sponge Zoanthid Bergia puertoricense
- Sponge Zoanthid Parazoanthus parasiticus
Characteristics
Size: 0,6 cm, max 0.7 cm.
Colour: Body brilliant gold to yellow; tentacles pale yellow.
Shape: The polyps look like small sea anemones. The oral disc is up to
0.6 cm in diameter and is fringed by up to 26 long and thinly tentacles.
Habitat environment and ecology
Inhabits coral reefs. Symbiotic on a wide variety of sponges,
including the Brown tube sponge Agelas conifera, the Green finger
sponge Lotrochota birotulata and Topsentia ophiraphidites (P. swifti
on T. ophiraphidites). The zoanthids are toxic to fish and may
discourage sponge-eating fishes from sampling their hosts; the
distinctive color of the zoanthid on the sponges may serve to advertise
their presence.
Distribution range
BES-eilanden: St. Eustatius.
Author
[Marion Haarsma, march 2016]
Literature
- Humann, P. (2001). Reef Creature Identification: Florida, Caribbean,
Bahamas Author: Paul Humann, Publisher: New World Publications Pages: 4.
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