Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Fungiidae
Genus: Fungia
Species: Fungia scruposa
Do you know what gets my attention? An old article about a species of coral that was documented eating jellyfish. But I’ll get to that later; first, I want to introduce you to Fungia scruposa, or the mushroom coral!
Found in the tropical waters of the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and western Pacific Ocean, mushroom coral are unique for a few reasons. Unlike other hard corals, F. scruposa lives as a single individual instead of as a colony, much like the Atlantic mushroom coral of the family Mussidae. Don’t let their similar common names fool you, though. These two corals are not closely related to each other.
Juvenile mushroom coral start out as raised disks that attach to dead coral or rock. When they grow to about an inch in diameter, they detach themselves from their substrate. However, this does not mean that they’re super mobile. Instead, mushroom coral typically stay in the same area and inhabit the sediment or rubble.
But what happens if a strong wave comes through and turns them over? Fungia scruposa use their tentacles to right themselves when knocked over by waves or by another animal.
Mushroom coral get their name from their appearance. They have an irregular disk shape that is about 1 inch in diameter, sometimes a little larger. At the center of the disk is a raised mound with a deep-looking cut, which is the polyp’s mouth. The coral’s hard exoskeleton has several thin ridges that spread out from the center, making it look like the underside of some mushrooms.
Fun fact: did you know that the ridges on the undersides of mushrooms are called gills?
I’ve yet to see this coral while diving, but I absolutely cannot wait! Mushroom coral are unique for their class, because they live as solitary polyps and spend their adult lives not attached to anything. But on top of all that, they were also recorded eating whole jellyfish in the late 2000s—something that was completely unheard of!
There are some species of sea anemones—distant cousins to coral—that are known to eat jellyfish. However, these are the first hard corals that scientists have seen eating jellies. Unfortunately, the divers were only able to see the jellies disappear into the mouths of several mushroom coral, but they could never see how the mushroom coral captured the moon jellies. Still, it’s absolutely fascinating and may prove how resilient hard coral can be in a changing ocean environment.
And maybe you can be the researcher that discovers how they do it! Maybe you can discover more species of coral that will dine on jellyfish when the opportunity presents itself.
Sources and links:
Ocean The Definitive Visual Guide made by American Museum of Natural History
http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/species_factsheets/species_factsheet_summary/fungia-scruposa/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8350000/8350972.stm ⇐an article about mushroom coral eating jellies
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-009-0507-7 ⇐another article about them eating jellies but with more detail
Siren's Call to the Sea 