This is the most commonly seen Stylaster species in the Marshalls. It is most common from very shallow water on down to 30m or more on seaward, pinnacle and lagoon reefs, usually in ledges and caves, which it shares with other varieties of Stylaster and Distichopora corals, ahermatypic dendrophylliid corals and gorgonians. Colonies typically form fan shapes with branches filling up just about all of the gaps to enhance filter feeding of plankton from the water currents passing through. Color is darker at the base, sometimes all the way to maroon, becoming lighter pink, sometimes orange, then white at the growing tips.
Some caves are loaded with colonies.
Created 5 April 2020