Lettuce Coral

Pavona varians, also known by its common name corrugated coral, is a species from the genus Pavona. Pavona varians is a type of hermatypic coral commonly distributed across tropic environments. Distribution of the coral include the equatorial Indian and Pacific Ocean, and notably, not found in the Atlantic ocean. Pavona varians have also been found to be distributed as North as the sea of Japan, in the Red Sea, and islands off the Pacific coast of Columbia and Costa Rica. Pavona varians are typically found an average of 45 feet below water on vertical surfaces in turbid, nutrient rich, water. Specifically, Pavona varians are found between crevices of the reef crest habitats and back reef habitats, including lagoons.

The Pavona varians are an encrusting species of coral that vary in color and tend to have red polyps, a green coenosteum, as well as blue mouths. Pavona varians differ in structure from many of the other polyps in their genus as they have unique ridges and sometimes take on a cup-like form. Pavona varians typically grow small plate-like colonies no larger than 25 centimeters on rocky surfaces, preferably in calm waters. Researchers have noted the coral's ability to rapidly colonize environments where other species of coral have either died or struggled to colonize. Notably, Pavona varians has been able to colonize areas where once large colonies of Goniopora and Porites once were distributed.

zooxanthellate

An encrusting species, or sometimes thick encrusting colonies with leafy edges, this forms small colonies rarely larger than 25 cm across. Calices are cerioid, though the surface of the colonies are ridged with collines, giving a low, convoluted appearance. Calices are small, being 0.8 to 1.3 mm diameter. The coral is always a greenish brown colour. It is a very common coral, though its small colony size and encrusting form conceals its abundance. However, it is likely to be recorded in every survey undertaken. It is found between the surface, in crevices in the reef crest, to at least 45 m deep, and is equally common on clear water reef slopes and turbid, back reef habitats. It appears to be a rapidly colonising species which, together with its small colony size, allows it to occupy rapidly parts of dead corals. Thus it is the species most likely to be found colonising the dead basal parts of large colonies of Goniopora and Porites species which dominate in back reef areas (Sheppard, 1998). Colonies are submassive, laminar or encrusting or various combinations of these. Corallites are in short irregular valleys, or are aligned between ridges perpendicular to margins, or are irregularly distributed on flat surfaces. Septa are in two alternating orders. Colour: yellow, green and brown. Abundance: occurs in a very wide range of habitats and may be common in some lagoons and sheltered upper reef slopes (Veron, 1986). Forms encrusting, plate-like colonies. Corallites aligned in short rows or patches separated by ridges, giving the surface a crumpled appearance. Colour: usually green or brown. Habitat: diverse, including lagoons (Richmond, 1997)