What Exactly is: Walking Dendro | The Mobile Fortress

Walking dendros got their name from the fact that they move around. While some solitary free-living corals do move around, walking dendros are unique in a way that they move by being dragged around by their symbiont. This symbiont is usually a peanut worm, especially Aspidosiphon muelleri, but other symbionts have been observed. Timestamps 0:00 Opening Thought 0:57 Taxonomy & General Information 4:35 Morphology 7:45 Ecology References Hoeksema, B. W. & Bongaerts, P. (2016). Mobility and self-righting by a free-living mushroom coral through pulsed inflation. Mar Biodiv 46, 521–524. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-015-03... Mehrotra, R., Chavanich, S., Monchanin, C., Jualaong, S., & Hoeksema, B. W. (2023). Biodiversity, ecology, and taxonomy of sediment-dwelling Dendrophylliidae (Anthozoa, Scleractinia) in the Gulf of Thailand. Contributions to Zoology, 92(5), 468-509. https://doi.org/10.1163/18759866-bja1... Hoeksema, B. W.; Cairns, S.; Samimi-Namin, K. (2026). World List of Scleractinia. Heteropsammia Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.p... on 2026-07-04 Borghi, S., Clements, M., Webb, M. et al. (2023). Discovery of the dendrophylliid scleractinian Heteropsammia cochlea (Spengler, 1781) in Halimeda bioherms of the Northern Great Barrier Reef. Mar. Biodivers. 53, 39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-023-01... Hoeksema, B. W. & Best, M. B. (1991). New observations on scleractinian corals from Indonesia: 2. Sipunculan-associated species belonging to the genera Heterocyathus and Heteropsammia. Zoologische Mededelingen, 65(16): 221- 245. https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/3... Herrán, N., Narayan, G. R., Doo, S. S., Klicpera, A., Freiwald, A., & Westphal, H. (2022). High-resolution imaging sheds new light on a multi-tier symbiotic partnership between a “walking” solitary coral, a sipunculan, and a bivalve from East Africa. Ecology and Evolution, 12, e8633. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8633 Igawa, M. & Kato, M. (2017) A new species of hermit crab, Diogenes heteropsammicola (Crustacea, Decapoda, Anomura, Diogenidae), replaces a mutualistic sipunculan in a walking coral symbiosis. PLOS ONE 12(9): e0184311. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.... Igawa, M., Hata, H., & Kato, M. (2017). Reciprocal Symbiont Sharing in the Lodging Mutualism between Walking Corals and Sipunculans. PloS one, 12(1), e0169825. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.... Mehrotra, R., Scott, C. M. & Hoeksema, B. W. (2016). A large gape facilitates predation on salps by Heteropsammia corals. Mar Biodiv 46, 323–324. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-015-03... Richmond, R. H. & Hunter, C. L. (1990). Reproduction and recruitment of corals: comparisons among the Caribbean, the Tropical Pacific, and the Red Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 1990(60):185–203. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps060185. Orejas, C., Antón-Sempere, S., Terrón-Sigler, A., & Grau, A. (2023). Reproductive characteristics and gametogenic cycle of the scleractinian coral Dendrophyllia ramea. PeerJ, 11, e16079. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16079 Thumbnail Image New Heaven Reef Conservation Program Outro Bubbles Drifting in the Morning Breeze - Artificial.Music & Akosmo    • Bubbles Drifting in the Morning Breeze - A...   Join the channel's membership:    / @outofplacezoologist