Lamarck, 1816
Distichopora vervoorti (12)
Type species: Millepora violacea Pallas, 1766
Total number of species estimated: 23 (2 fossil species also known).
Characteristics: Colonies flabellate to bushy; branches slender to cylindrical, or even clavate. Colonies up to 30 cm in height. Corallum variable in colour, including: yellow, orange, red, brown, violet, and white. Gastropores aligned in rows, usually along the branch edge, but in some species meandering across coenosteum. Rows of gastropores flanked on either side by a series of smaller slit-like dactylopores, oriented perpendicular to the gastropore pore row. Small (1 mm diameter) ampullae, often clustered in groups of 20-30 occur on branch faces.
Ecology: Unlike Stylaster, most species of Distichopora are shallow water in occurrence.
Range: Eocene to Recent: extant species cosmopolitan in warm and temperate waters, except for eastern Atlantic, at depths of 1-736 m. Six species are known from the Indonesian region.
Additional remarks: None.
Key references: Boschma, 1959; Cairns and Hoeksema, 1997.