What eats Orange Cup Corals? Wentletraps!!!

[Marriard]

A couple of years after a dive on the USCGC Duane at night, and the spectacular sight of it covered in Orange Cup Corals, one of my friends asked "What eats all the orange cup corals (Tubastraea coccinea) on the shipwrecks?"

I actually knew the answer - in the Southern Hemisphere it is Yellow Wentletraps (Epitonium billeeanum) who are clever and aggressive little predators. I didn't have images of them until a recent trip to Phuket, Thailand in March.

Although these Wentletraps are reasonably common across all of the southern tropics, they have not 'migrated' to the Caribbean as Orange Cup Corals have. And though there are a few species of Wentletraps in the Caribbean, I do not believe that any of them eat Orange Cup Coral....

So in the Caribbean the answer is "I am not aware of anything that actively eats Orange Cup Coral."

Fortunetly Orange Cup Corals seem reasonably confined to shipwrecks and does not appear to heave adapted to the coral reefs in the Caribbean so hopefully this species does not become a real issue.

Hey, but I could be wrong! ;D I generally am....

Enjoy,
M

 

[clgsamson]

Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

 

[Doc]

Fortunetly Orange Cup Corals seem reasonably confined to shipwrecks and does not appear to heave adapted to the coral reefs in the Caribbean so hopefully this species does not become a real issue.

In Roatan, on the South side, between 28-32fsw under wall/reef ledges, we see them all over at night.

I was quite surprised to see them out during the daylight in the Galapagos, yet in the Philippines and Maldives... only at night.

Do the Corals quickly retract upon touch of these critters? Or, do they just sit there and get eaten?

 

[Dee]

Yeah, they are no longer confined to wrecks. Doc, here's a shot of a small patch of them at the location you mentioned.

 

[Jamdiver]

I've only found them on shipwrecks here so far.
But who knows what areas they'll colonize the future.

Thank you for the pics and wonderful lesson Marriard .

 

[micahjt]

What ever the case, they're perty!

I wouldn't mind having a few around to brighten up the place!

Nice photo Dee!

 

[ejg62]

They are also all over the Town Pier in Bonaire, carpeting a number of the columns and underneath side of the walk/drive areas. Also on a night dive I came across a small pipe in the sand coming back to shore. Looking inside there were a number of cup coral.

Periodically, I will even find a small patch of 1-3 here in Southern California, but nothing like what I saw in Bonaire.

Jim G

 

[Mariozi]

We also have those here in Brazil, right by Rio de Janeiro coast, from the south (Angra dos Reis Is) to the north (Buzios, Cabo Frio, Arraial do Cabo)!
Just like egj's pics!

Best!

 

[caymaniac]

I've only found them on shipwrecks here so far.
But who knows what areas they'll colonize the future.

Thank you for the pics and wonderful lesson Marriard .

The more common site in Bonaire..