Taiaroa tauhou facts for kids

Taiaroa tauhou is a special type of deep-sea coral. It lives all by itself, not in big groups like many other corals. This unique creature belongs to a family called Taiaroidae, and it's the only species in that family! Scientists Frederick M. Bayer and Katherine Margaret Muzik first described it in 1976. Its name comes from the "Taiaroa" submarine canyon near New Zealand, where it was found. "Tauhou" is a Māori word meaning "strange," which fits this unusual coral.

How it was Discovered and Classified

In 1973, a new and strange coral was found deep in the ocean off New Zealand. It was pulled up from about 720 meters (2,362 feet) below the surface! At first, people thought it might be a type of burrowing sea anemone.

A marine biologist named Dr. Cadet Hand realized it was actually an octocoral. He asked for help from another expert, Dr. Frederick Bayer, who gave it the name Taiaroa tauhou.

In 1976, scientists created a special group called Protoalcyonaria just for this coral and other similar ones found later. This group was meant for octocorals that live alone. Later, in 2022, Taiaroa tauhou was moved into a newer group called Malacalcyonacea.

What it Looks Like

Taiaroa tauhou has a tall, tube-shaped body. It stays in place on the soft seafloor using many thin threads attached to its base.

The top part of the coral, called the anthocodia, has eight feathery tentacles and a mouth. This part can pull back completely into the lower, stiff part of the body, which is called the anthostele.

The anthostele is strong because it has tiny, hard pieces inside called sclerites. It also has eight ridges running along its length. This lower part makes up more than half of the coral's total size. The biggest one found was about 36.5 millimeters (1.4 inches) long and 6.5 millimeters (0.25 inches) wide. The part that could pull back was about 14.5 millimeters (0.57 inches) long.

The coral's body is a solid, light brown color. The threads that hold it to the seafloor are covered with bits of sand and mud.

Reproduction

Taiaroa tauhou is a solitary coral, meaning it lives alone. It reproduces only by sexual reproduction. This means it needs eggs and sperm to create new corals.

Scientists think it might be a hermaphrodite, which means one coral could have both male and female parts. One coral they studied had both eggs and sperm-producing organs. However, other corals only had eggs or were only male.

It's possible that male corals release sperm, which is then taken in by female corals. This would lead to fertilization inside the female. If this is true, then the corals would not be hermaphroditic, but separate male and female individuals.

See also

In Spanish: Taiaroa tauhou para niños