Corynactis is a genus of colonial anthozoans similar in appearance to sea anemones and in body format to scleractinian stony corals. These animals are cnidarians in the family Corallimorphidae. A species thought to belong to this genus feed on the crown-of-thorns seastar Acanthaster planci and may help control the crown-of-thorns population, but these are now known as Paracorynactis hoplites.
Species Species so far described in this genus include: Corynactis annulata Verrill, 1867 Corynactis australis Haddon & Duerden, 1896 Corynactis caboverdensis den Hartog, Ocaña & Brito, 1993 Corynactis californica Carlgren, 1936 Corynactis caribbeorum den Hartog, 1980 Corynactis carnea Studer, 1879 Corynactis chilensis Carlgren, 1941 Corynactis delawarei Widersten, 1976 Corynactis denhartogi Ocaña, 2003 Corynactis denticulosa Le Sueur, 1817 Corynactis globulifera Hemprich & Ehrenberg in Ehrenberg, 1834 Corynactis parvula Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860 Corynactis sanmatiensis (Zamponi, 1976) Corynactis viridis Allman, 1846
Feeding Corynactis, like other corals in the phylum Corallimorpharia, depend highly on their production of zooxanthellae and numerous animals which find themselves trapped by the oral disk as benthic invertebrates, crustaceans, worms, echinoderms and even fishes. They are very aggressive eaters, which allows for them to feed on larger particles in the water column.
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