Lesser Valley Coral

About

The lesser valley coral (Platygyra contorta) is one of those reef-builders that rewards a closer look. Colonies can take on several forms, flat plates, domed masses, encrusting sheets, or columnar structures, and the surface is carved with a network of valleys that tell a story about how they grew. Near the outer edges, the valleys tend to run long and fairly straight, but toward the colony's center they tighten into short, sinuous, almost labyrinthine patterns, which is where the species gets both its scientific name and its distinctive character. The walls between these valleys are notably thin, and the septa within are irregular in a way that sets it apart from closely related brain and maze corals. Coloration ranges from red and grey to pale yellow and green, often with the valley walls and floors in contrasting shades that give the surface real visual depth. In the wild, it occupies rocky intertidal zones and shallow reef habitats across a broad Indo-West Pacific range, from Japan down to New Caledonia and from Somalia across to Fiji, typically from the surface down to around 30 meters. In the aquarium, it's considered an intermediate-level coral. Not the most demanding maze coral you could keep, but it does best with moderate light and consistent moderate flow rather than being neglected in a low-energy corner of the tank.