Wild coral identification

[DragoJustin]

I went scuba diving in the Bahamas and I found a large colony of this coral, I brought a piece home with me and it is a very strange coral. It is one solid chunk and it seems to be a stony coral, but when it is fully opened it almost looks like zoanthid polyp heads. The body tissue seems to be very white and opaque so I know that it is not bleaching, and when the polyps extend it seems to be a brownish yellow color.

Any idea what it is?

 

[AcroNem]

It's Palythoa tuberculosa, or a sea mat. High amounts of palytoxin so take that into account after handling, cutting etc.

 

[cristata.reef]

Palythoa tuberculosa if from the Pacific, Palythoa caribaeorum if from the Caribbean/Atlantic. Both are some of the more toxic species of Palythoa