Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Palythoa tuberculosa (Esper, 1805)

zoantido, Zoanthid

Polyps are packed tightly together and exhibit a well developed coenenchyme often impregnated by sand particles.

Found primarily in intertidal areas, where polyps appear contracted during the day.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Cnidaria

Class
Anthozoa

Order
Zoantharia

Suborder
Brachycnemina

Family
Sphenopidae

Genus
Palythoa

Species
tuberculosa

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Native

Status

IUCN Red List Category: Not evaluated

Distribution

Distribution: Common throughout the Indo-Pacific and in the central and western Bioregions of Galapagos.

References

  • Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
  • Hickman, C.P. Jr. (2008) A field guide to corals and other radiates of Galápagos. Sugar Spring Press, Lexington, Virginia, 162 pp.
  • Reimer, J.D. Hickman, C.P., Jr. (2007) Preliminary survey of zooxanthellate zoanthids (Cnidaria: Hexacorallia) of the Galapagos and associated symbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.). Notícias de Galápagos 66: 14-19.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Palythoa tuberculosa", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7941. Accessed 25 June 2025.