Coral Showcase - Rhizotrochus
This entry was posted on 7/2/2007 2:08 PM and is filed under Coral Showcase.
Featured Coral: Rhizotrochus Typus
Copyright (c)2006 Jendub
Species Rhizotrochus typus
Here is a little information on the family that Rhizotrochus are a part of.
The flabellids are known from the early cretaceous, (about 135 million years ago) to the recent, and are widespread in today's oceans from the North Sea to Continental Antarctica. They range from depths from 0 to 3,200 meters and from temperatures of -1°C (Continental Antaractica) to the tropics.They are exclusively azooxanthellate.
Flabellids are exclusively solitary in growth form -- never forming colonies -- but certain genera reproduce asexually by transverse division (Carins, 1989b) and budding from the edge. The corallum of many flabellids is fan shaped, hence the name (flabellum, Latin for a small fan). They are sometimes attached by contiguous or noncontiguous, hollow rootlets.
Copyright(c)2002S.D.Carins Copyright(C) 2006 Jendub
Pictured above, side view of a skelton collected in Phillipines (depth 124m), this genius charaterized by tubular hollow basal rootlets that help attach the coral substrate. Height of corallum 43mm. (Copyright(c) 2002 S.D. Carins).
Pictured to the right, is my Rhizo showing this "rooting" behavior. It has about 8-10 of these little roots. It is very hard to find any information, let alone pictures of this behavior.
Here is the many phases of a Rhizotrochus.
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
Rhizo egg Egg morphing Egg splitting
Phase 4 Phase 5 Phase 6
Turning rhizo Birth of rhizo Developing adult
Phase7 Phase 8 Phase 9
Adult rhizo Many years Budding baby
Pictures used for time line are from nixe.co.jp and my own. Copyright (c)2006 Jendub.com
We hope you enjoy this in-depth look at this very fascinating creature. If you have any information on these beauties and would like to share, please send me an email or leave me a comment.
Ciao,
Jen=)
