Macrozoarces americanus
Size
to 42" and 12 lbs.
Description:
Huge mouth with drooping lips. Anal and caudal fins continuous. Apparently, these are edible, and at times there is some effort on the part of commercial fishermen to catch them. Too ugly for my tastes, though. Pouts like rocky bottoms and structure, from water's edge down to 180 ft. Gregarious.
Most tropical corals contain photosynthetic algae which provide a substantial amount of the polyp's food. White Encrusting Coral, also known as Northern Stony or Star Coral, contains no such algae and therefore can survive the low light conditions and temperatures of the North Atlantic where other corals would die. Instead, it is a filter-feeder, much like an anemone.
Corals are similar to anemones in many ways. Each coral polyp is like an anemone in a stony cup. Many corals are colonial ( as are some anemones ) sharing a single merged body among many polyps.
More: Northern Coral ...
