a fascinating pair of rare corals Taxidermy full body mount - Tubipora musica/diploria labyrinthiformis - 19 cm - 21 cm - 13 cm - 1

Fantastic lot in which two very rare corals are offered together, almost forming a single body. Refined aesthetics, for enthusiasts:
Red Organ Pipe, Diploria labyrinthiformis.
Tubipora musica is an octocoral native to the waters of the Indian Ocean and the central and western regions of the Pacific Ocean, the only known species of the genus Tubipora. This species is a soft coral but with a unique and hard calcium carbonate skeleton that contains many tubes resembling organ pipes, hence its common name RED ORGAN PIPE CORAL. Each tube bears a series of polyps, each with eight feather-like tentacles. These tentacles are usually extended during the day, but retract quickly at any disturbance. The skeleton is a bright red color, but is typically darkened by numerous polyps. For this reason, living colonies are typically green, blue, or purple due to the color of the expanded polyps.
When the coral reaches the surface, the polyps’ tentacles fall, revealing Tubipora in all its splendid red.
The Brain Coral is part of a dense group of cnidarians characterized by a hemispheric shape and irregular grooves on the outer surface that resemble a human brain. It is a hard coral (madrepore), i.e., sedentary colonies of polyps supported by a calcium carbonate skeleton firmly anchored to a surface: Brain Coral is among the species best able to withstand shocks and external attacks of any kind, whether from animals or tropical storms. It is found in all oceans, mainly on reefs. The growth of this organism is extremely slow, and specimens reaching up to 900 years have been observed; the largest in the world, on the coast of the African island of Tobago, measures an impressive 5 meters wide by 3 meters high. They often live in symbiosis with other microorganisms, usually small algae, a fact observed in many other coral species.
Each tiny polyp resides in a micro cavity excavated in the calcium carbonate on the coral’s surface, and periodically extrudes some small tentacles: at night the “cranial cap” becomes covered with a dense, pale white fuzz, allowing the colony of organisms to move the surrounding water to absorb nutrients and purify the coral from sand and various sediments. Some more active species also corrode and feed on nearby corals.
It is anticipated that the Solomon Islands will publish new export regulations for corals. A potential block would entail not only difficulty in sourcing these beautiful specimens on the market but also a significant price increase.
Tubipora musica: h 19 cm, w 21 cm, d 13 cm
Brain Coral: h 9 cm, w 23 cm, d 13 cm
Very beautiful lot, pedestal not included, made with reclaimed material and used for photographic purposes only. A necessary clarification. The final image of our photographic gallery is achieved with the help of AI software. The aim is purely aesthetic but also illustrative: to show the real object within an artificially generated setting. The goal is to demonstrate how precious the auction items are and how well they can look in different, all very refined environments. Thank you for your attention.
Happy bidding.