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Story: Corals, anemones and jellyfish

Cup corals

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Cup corals

There are two deep sea stony corals shown here. The fan-like growths belong to Desmophyllum dianthus, a solitary coral consisting of a single large polyp. These are growing on the coral Enallopsammia rostrata, which is made up of an interconnecting network of polyps.

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NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

by Alan Blacklock

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How to cite this page

Dennis Gordon, Corals, anemones and jellyfish – True corals and sea anemones, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/4729/cup-corals (accessed 5 June 2026).

Story by Dennis Gordon, published 2 March 2009, updated 26 September 2016.