Snowflakes Coral

The snowflake coral is an invasive species from Hawaii and native of the tropical Western Atlantic and Caribbean. Since 1972 when it was first described as an invasive species, it has speed to Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. It is considered an invasive species because it has capacity to dominate space and crowd out other marine organisms.

It is known to inhabit reefs and underwater structures such as piers and shipwreck. It can also attach itself to metal, concrete and even plastic. In India, it has been reported from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Mannar (Tamil Nadu), Gulf of Kutch (Gujarat) and Goa. It poses various threats to ecosystem.  As it has capacity to thickly settle and occupy a variety of surfaces it can destabilise the marine ecosystem. It can crowd out other marine species like corals, algae, sponges, ascidians that are mainly contributing to the rich marine biodiversity of the region.