Blue coral [SEP] parent taxon
Blue coral
Blue coral ("Heliopora coerulea") is a species of colonial coral. It is the only octocoral known to produce a massive skeleton. This skeleton is formed of aragonite, similar to that of scleractinia. Individual polyps live in tubes within the skeleton and are connected by a thin layer of tissue over the outside of the skeleton. 
Taxonomy.
"Heliopora coerulea" was described by Pallas in 1766.
Description.
The blue coral is the only extant octocoral with a massive skeleton, which
also be taken into account. Three localities that were sampled by Vogler "et al." are of particular interest: Palau Sebibu, UEA and Oman were found to have two clades/sibling species in sympatry. These are important to investigate the nature of the co-existence and barriers to introgression of genetic material. "A. planci" as a taxon is a generalist, being amongst the most ubiquitous of large coral predators on coral reefs, feeding on virtually all hard coral species, reproducing during summer without a pattern of