Cladiella is a genus of soft corals native to the Indo-Pacific region. These corals are commonly known as colt corals or finger leather corals and are often kept in reef aquaria. They grow fast, have short rounded or conical lobes and are sticky to the touch owing to the production of much mucus. They are creamy or pale grey in colour. The polyps are fully retractable and give the colony a fluffy look when extended. They may be a contrasting green or brown hue.
Species The World Register of Marine Species lists the following species:
Cladiella arborea (Utinomi, 1954) Cladiella arbusculoides Verseveldt & Benayahu, 1978 Cladiella aspera Tixier-Durivault, 1970 Cladiella australis (Macfadyen, 1936) Cladiella bottai (Tixier-Durivault, 1943) Cladiella brachyclados Ehrenberg, 1834 Cladiella ceylonica (Pratt, 1905) Cladiella conifera (Tixier-Durivault, 1943) Cladiella crassa (Tixier-Durivault, 1943) Cladiella daphnae van Ofwegen & Benayahu, 1992 Cladiella densa Tixier-Durivault, 1970 Cladiella devaneyi Verseveldt, 1977 Cladiella digitulatum (Klunzinger, 1877) Cladiella dollfusi (Tixier-Durivault, 1943) Cladiella echinata (Tixier-Durivault, 1943) Cladiella elegantissima (May, 1899) Cladiella elongata (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella exigua (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella foliacea (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella germaini (Tixier-Durivault, 1942) Cladiella globulifera (Klunzinger, 1877) Cladiella globuliferoides (Thomson & Dean, 1931) Cladiella gracilis (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella hartogi Benayahu & Chou, 2010 Cladiella hicksoni (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella hirsuta Tixier-Durivault, 1970 Cladiella humesi Verseveldt, 1974 Cladiella irregularis (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella kashmani Benayahu & Schleyer, 1996 Cladiella klunzingeri Thomson & Simpson, 1909 Cladiella krempfi (Hickson, 1919) Cladiella kukenthali (Tixier-Durivault, 1942) Cladiella laciniosa (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella latissima (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella letourneuxi (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella lineata (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella madagascarensis (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella michelini (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella minuta (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella multiloba Tixier-Durivault, 1970 Cladiella pachyclados (Klunzinger, 1877) Cladiella papillosa Tixier-Durivault, 1942 Cladiella pauciflora Ehrenberg, 1834 Cladiella prattae (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella pulchra (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella ramosa Tixier-Durivault, 1970 Cladiella rotundata Tixier-Durivault, 1970 Cladiella scabra Tixier-Durivault, 1970 Cladiella similis (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella sphaerophora (Ehrenberg, 1834) Cladiella steineri Verseveldt, 1982 Cladiella studeri (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella subtilis Tixier-Durivault, 1970 Cladiella suezensis (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella tenuis (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella thomsoni (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella tualerensis (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella tuberculoides (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella tuberculosa (Quoy & Gaimard, 1833) Cladiella tuberosa (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) Cladiella variabilis (Tixier-Durivault, 1944)
References