Yellow cup coral

Photo: EMMANOUIL SYMIGDALAS · CC BY-NC

Leptopsammia pruvoti is an azooxanthellate coral that thrives in light-limited vertical habitats, forming vivid golden-yellow colonies across the Lindos wall below 15 m where it out-competes algae in the shade. Unlike symbiotic corals, it is entirely dependent on zooplankton captured from the water column and flourishes in the gentle swell-driven mixing that characterises the bay entrance. The species is a strong indicator of undisturbed reef structure — dense colonies on the Lindos wall signal that sedimentation and organic pollution remain low despite the nearby village.