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Palythoa sp.



Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Subclass: Hexacorallia
Order: Zoanthidea
Family: Zoanthidae
Genus: Palythoa













• Palythoa commonly known as button polyps or sea mat.
• They are a colonial animal with multiple individual polyps that attach to a piece of rock or other hard surface.
• When in areas of high abundance, they may form mats covering virtually all of the available substrate for tens to hundreds of square meters.
• They are found primarily in intertidal or sub tidal zones on coral reefs and reef crests.
• Their polyps have the ability to sting other animals and are semi-aggressive and they will compete for space with neighboring corals in order to gain territory.
• The symbiotic algae zooxanthellae hosted within their bodies provide the majority of their nutritional requirements through photosynthesis however, they are capable of eating phytoplankton as each polyp has an individual mouth.
• Some species contain Palytoxins, which are found in the mucus and gonads of certain palythoa. These palytoxins are among the most potent toxins known in nature and are not only very painful but they can be dangerous to humans if absorbed through open wounds. In fact, ancient Hawaiians coated their spear tips with these toxins to poison their target.
• Palythoa can reproduce in several different ways. They have the capability to divide themselves by splitting an individual polyp into two. They are also known to broadcast spawn. In this case, the eggs and larvae lack zooxanthellae, so new symbionts must be acquired after settlement.