Orange Cup Coral

Orange cup coral, Tubastraea coccinea, forms clusters of individual skeletal cups with orange or reddish tissue and conspicuous yellow-orange tentacles. It is an animal colony, not a sponge. The vivid appearance is memorable, but orange coloration alone is not a reliable identification: a useful photograph should also show the arrangement of the cups and the surrounding substrate.

Documented South Florida history

Smithsonian’s NEMESIS account traces an Atlantic Florida record to a shipwreck off Key Largo in 1999 and describes subsequent records on artificial structures extending north to Palm Beach Inlet. This is unusually relevant evidence for the southern portion of the Vero–Key Largo corridor. It supports a wreck and artificial-reef context without establishing occurrence at Vero Beach or every natural reef between the named places.

These historical records should not be read as a current survey of any particular wreck. A reef guide can explain what an animal is and why it matters, while a recent local observation is still needed to say that a specific colony remains present today.

Food without photosynthetic partners

Unlike many familiar shallow-water reef-building corals, this species lacks the symbiotic algae that supply photosynthetic energy. It captures zooplankton with its tentacles. Shaded surfaces can therefore provide suitable feeding habitat even when they would offer poor light for a strongly photosynthesis-dependent coral. It produces a hard skeleton, but its colonies do not build reefs in the same way as the large framework-building species.

Growth and reproduction

New polyps can develop by budding. The species also reproduces through larvae, including larvae produced asexually, and its reproductive flexibility contributes to establishment in new places. The Global Invasive Species Database describes tissue extensions that can lead to new polyps away from an existing cluster. A photograph of neighboring cups cannot tell whether they originated from one clone or separate arrivals.

Why careful reporting matters

This coral is introduced in Atlantic Florida. Its presence deserves attention because introduced colonies can compete with native benthic animals. That is a reason to document a suspected occurrence accurately, not an invitation to conduct an improvised removal. Record the date, approximate location, depth and type of substrate, and retain clear photographs for identification by an appropriate marine resource authority.

Do not break, scrape or transport the colony. FWC’s current marine-life page lists stony-coral harvest as prohibited; a nonnative label does not create a recreational exception. If unsure, leave the animal undisturbed. Presenting this species in an identification guide helps divers recognize an ecological concern without encouraging collecting or promising a particular control method.

References

• Smithsonian NEMESIS: Florida invasion records and biology
• IUCN specialist database: reproduction and ecological concerns
• FWC: stony-coral harvest restrictions

Collection and habitat protection

FWC prohibits stony-coral harvest. Nonnative status does not authorize recreational removal. Photograph suspected colonies without breaking, scraping or transporting them. Current FWC marine-life guidance. Guidance reviewed November 12, 2026. No location-specific collection clearance is given.

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