第 1123 號，共 1 402 號

Branching fire coral

Millepora alcicornis

名字的由來： Millepora means 'thousand-pored' and alcicornis means 'elk-horned', although the name does not match its appearance.1

只是會痛會痛，但不會對你造成嚴重傷害。

水母和會螫人的海洋生物

螫吃：肉

對人的危險: 疼痛可能會非常痛，但幾乎從來不會很嚴重。

Branching fire coral is not a true coral, even though it looks like one. It is a relative of jellyfish that lives on shallow tropical reefs in the western Atlantic and can sting people who touch it. It is an important part of the reef community.1

分布在

Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Cape Verde Islands, Central and South America to Brazil, Canary Islands, Madeira and Bermuda1

大西洋, 加勒比海, 墨西哥灣

首頁

It grows on shallow coral reefs, rocks, dead corals and even the hulls of wrecked ships, at depths of up to 40 metres. Divers are the people most likely to meet it.1

長度

50 cm (1,6 ft)1

最高速度

大約 0,01 km/h（0,01 mph）

游泳, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It feeds on plankton. Its hairlike tentacles sting prey to immobilise it, then pass the food into a stomach-like polyp for digestion.1

Branching fire coral 的照片 — Branching fire coral。照片：Nhobgood Nick Hobgood。 CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

Its branches are cylindrical and grow in a single plane.1
Branches range in colour from brown to pale, cream-like yellow, with white tips.1
In surf-battered outer reef edges it forms flat plates or blades.1
In calm, deep or sheltered water it grows upright, leafy or branched, up to 50 cm tall.1

毒液力量

螫

毒液從螫針出來。

牠的毒液有什麼作用？

Its sting injects a water-soluble protein venom. The venom causes a painful burning sensation, skin eruptions, blisters and scarring.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 疼痛可能會非常痛，但幾乎從來不會很嚴重。

It can cause painful stings to unwary divers. Its cells are strong enough to sting human skin.1

如果牠螫人

離開水裡，把觸手拿掉（戴手套或用布）。
熱帶箱形水母：在螫傷處倒醋至少 30 秒，求救，並準備好做心肺復甦術（CPR）。藍瓶水母和大多數其他水母：用海水沖洗，再用熱水止痛。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果被牠螫了：保持冷靜，保持不動，打緊急電話（112、000、911）或趕快去醫院。記住牠的樣子，有照片會很有幫助。

牠不是想來抓你。牠用毒液來捕捉食物或保護自己，而且牠更想躲起來。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲大西洋加勒比海墨西哥灣

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

跟 3 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長跟 16 塊玩具積木排成一排一樣長比花園蝸牛還慢

Branching fire coral 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一隻海馬 大約 0,0015 km/h (0 mph)

Branching fire coral 大約 0,01 km/h (0,01 mph)

一隻花園蝸牛 大約 0,05 km/h (0,03 mph)

值得知道

小知識

When it grows near a sea fan, it grows special 'attack' branches that wrap around and smother the fan.1

It is not a true coral. It belongs to the class Hydrozoa and is more closely related to jellyfish than to stony corals.1

Small fish and shrimp shelter among its branches and seem unaffected by its venom.1

It is one of the first corals to bleach in warm water, but it recovers from damage faster than most other corals.1

About 75% of its energy comes from microscopic algae living in its tissues.1

破解迷思

迷思： It is a true coral like the stony corals that build reefs.

真相： It is not a true coral. It is a hydrozoan, more closely related to jellyfish.1

給毒液專家

學名: Millepora alcicornis
類群: 水母和會螫人的海洋生物
家人: Milleporidae2
排序: Anthoathecata
各大洲: 大西洋, 加勒比海, 墨西哥灣, 海洋
寶寶: It reproduces by fragments breaking off and growing into new colonies, and by budding short-lived, jellyfish-like medusae that release larvae.1
對人的危險: 2 / 5: 疼痛3