Waminoa sp. 1

Scientific name : Waminoa sp. 1

Acoelan flat worm, of small size (3 mm), shape similar to an apple shilouette. Bronze brown colour, uniform, with the exception of a yellow spot on the tail.
Found on the reef front and external reef.
Similar to Waminoa sp. 2 and Waminoa sp. 3 , is distinguished by the uniform colour.

Associated organisms
Always associated with hard corals having expanded tentacles also during the day (here Plerogyra sinuosa, in the other photos Heliofungia actiniformis). Normally in groups, covering large areas of the coral tentacles, giving a spotted colour pattern. They feed on tiny crustaceans (copepods), diatoms and partciles collected on the coral mucus.
The brown colour is due to the symbiosis with unicellular algae (zooxantellae or diatoms).