About Micromussa lordhowensis (Veron & Pichon, 1982)
Micromussa lordhowensis is a colonial coral that grows into low clumps up to two metres across. Its corallites are large, reaching up to 15 mm in diameter. Corallite walls are made of closely packed septa that have fine teeth, and the columella is well-developed. The species displays a very wide range of colors, often featuring two contrasting shades of red, orange, purple, blue, or green. Micromussa lordhowensis lives in reef habitats of the western Indo-Pacific, at depths down to approximately 30 metres. Its geographic range stretches from the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the eastern coast of Africa to the East China Sea, Japan, and Australia. This species gets its specific scientific name from Lord Howe Island, which hosts the most southerly coral reef in the Pacific. On this reef, Micromussa lordhowensis occurs alongside around 83 recorded species of stony coral. Many of these associated corals are tropical species at the southernmost edge of their range, along with subtropical species that do not grow on the nearby Great Barrier Reef.
