Scolymia australis
Milne Edwards and Haime, 1849
Records from the central-western Pacific are doubtful.
Description: Usually solitary but sometimes two to four centres occur in one corallite, or occasionally in separate corallites. Corallites are saucer-shaped and less than 60 millimetres diameter. Septa are sturdy with blunt saw-like teeth.
Color: Colourful, usually mixtures of cream, red, blue and green.
Habitat: Reef environments or on rocky headlands in high latitudes.
Abundance: Relatively common in subtropical localities, uncommon elsewhere.
Similar Species: Scolymia cubensis. Scolymia vitiensis is mostly larger and not cup-shaped.
Source reference: Veron (2000). Taxonomic reference: Veron and Pichon (1980). Identification guide: Veron (1986).
A solitary polyp. Lord Howe Island, south-east Australia Photograph: Neville Coleman
A solitary polyp. Norfolk Island, western Pacific Photograph: Charlie Veron
A solitary polyp. Great Barrier Reef, Australia Photograph: Valerie Taylor
Skeletal detail. A corallite.
Colour variation between two adjacent polyps. Ambon, Indonesia Photograph: Valerie Taylor