Organ pipe coral
Tubipora musica
- Scientific name
- Tubipora musica
- Group
- Cnidarians (corals, anemones, jellyfish)
- Rarity
- Rare
- Where to see it
- Indo-Pacific & Red Sea
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Least concern
Did you know?
Organ pipe coral forms a bright red skeleton made of parallel tubes that resemble organ pipes, completely hidden beneath the living gray-green polyps when the colony is healthy. Its red color comes from iron in its calcium skeleton, an unusual trait among corals.
What defines this group — Cnidarians (corals, anemones, jellyfish)
Corals, anemones and jellyfish: the same simple animal, anchored to the bottom or drifting in open water.
- All armed with cnidocytes, harpoon cells that fire on contact.
- A body arranged in rays around a single opening, serving as both mouth and exit.
- Hard corals host algae in their tissue: it is their departure that causes bleaching.