Helioporacea is a pretty unique order of Octocorallia (soft corals), which was thought for a very long time to contain only one single species, Heliopora coerulea, the famous Blue Ridge Coral that incorporates copper into its skeleton. This coral is very…
‘Branching’ Blue Ridge Coral More Widespread than Previously Known
Blue ridge coral is one of our favorite species of oddball reef species, being more closely related to soft corals yet building a unique type of hard skeleton. For ages coral fanciers wondered if there were more than one species of Heliopora and…
Heliopora hiberniana is a New Species of ‘White’ Blue Ridge Coral
Heliopora hiberniana is the first new species of blue ridge coral to be described in over two hundred and fifty years! Originally described by Palais in 1766, Heliopora coerulea, also known as Blue Ridge coral is a super common, widespread…
