Home > Corals > Poritidae > Porites rus

Family Poritidae

INDO-PACIFIC / HAWAII

Porites rus

cropped

 

Kailua Bay, Hawaii, 15 feet

Haleiwa Beach, Oahu, 30 feet

cropped

 

PLATE & PILLAR CORAL

Rare on shallow Hawaiian reefs exposed to surge.  Forms large encrustations topped with rough knobs.  Tiny polyps are surrounded by short irregular ridges.  Calices lack a small central rod known as the columella present in Porites monticulosa.  Yellowish green or grayish brown with white polyps.  Similar to Porites monticulosa but limited to shallow water.  Abundant in the surf zone of Tutuila, American Samoa.  Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific.  Formerly known in Hawaii as Porites irregularis.

All coral skeletons illustrated are from scientific collections taken prior to 1998.