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Rust Polyp (Alcyoneum Rubigo)

Rust reefs form from a living organism, like Earth reefs, but there is only one polyp for each rust coral, and they are much larger. Despite their name, rust polyps are more like barnacles in appearance. Although rust polyps are capable of sexual reproduction, they do not use that method often, preferring instead to use an alternate method. At the end of its life, a rust polyp will release two eggs that are identical clones to itself: one floats away to colonize a new area, while the other is attached to the outside of its parents outer shell. It is very common to see a piece of rust coral with the youngest polyp growing on the empty shells of its ancestors, although it is also possible to see two polyps on a rust coral, usually occurring when a free-floating egg attaches to another rust coral that has a polyp of its own.

There are many different subspecies of rust polyp, distinguished by the formation of the coral shell they build. Without their shell, rust polyps resemble barnacles with the addition of modified tentacles that are used for repairing the shell. Rust polyps use feathery limbs to filter small organic particles, as well as iron out of the water. Iron is collected by the tentacles and mixed with a type of mucus the polyp produces that acts like a "glue". The resulting mixture is spread on the outside of the shell to expand or repair it. Because rust polyps build their shells in saltwater, corrosion is a large problem. In fact, an easy way to tell where the current polyp in a rust coral is, look for the part without any holes, as the polyps only maintain their outer exterior, and the old shells are left alone to rust away. This can provide a habitat for many of the species that live in the reefs. One particularly large specimen was even found to be home to a juvenile alloy snapper!