Spirobranchus giganteus
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Spirobranchus giganteus, commonly known as the Christmas tree worm, is a tube-building polychaete worm belonging to the family Serpulidae. The S. giganteus lives in coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region to the Caribbean.
Assortment of worms
Christmas tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus) from East Timor.
Spirobranchus giganteus embedded in a brain coral in a reef in Bonaire.
Porites
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Porites is a genus of stony coral; they are small polyp stony (SPS) corals. They are characterised by a finger-like morphology. Members of this genus have widely spaced calices, a well-developed wall reticulum and are bilaterally symmetrical. Porites, particularly Porites lutea, often form microatolls. Corals of the genus Porites also often serve as hosts for Christmas tree worms.
In intertidal reef-flat environments, massive Porites form characteristic microatoll formations, with living tissues around the perimeter, and dead skeleton on the exposed upper surface. Microatoll growth is predominantly lateral, as vertical growth is limited by a lack of accommodation space.
Small colony of Porites porites