''Agaricia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of colonial

stony corals Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a mo ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Agariciidae The Agariciidae are a family of reef-building stony corals. This family includes cactus corals, plate corals, and lettuce corals. Members of the family include symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae in their tissues which help provide their energ ...

. These corals are found in shallow waters of the West Indies.

Characteristics

Corals in this genus have several different forms but are usually massive, leaf-like or plate-like. Members of the genus are distinguished from other corals by having no walls to the

corallite A corallite is the skeletal cup, formed by an individual stony coral polyp, in which the polyp sits and into which it can retract. The cup is composed of aragonite, a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, and is secreted by the polyp. Corallit ...

s but having clearly delineated septocostae that connect each corallite to its neighbours.

Species

The World Register of Marine Species recognises the following species: *'' Agaricia agaricites'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *'' Agaricia fragilis'' Dana, 1846 *'' Agaricia grahamae'' Wells, 1973 *'' Agaricia humilis'' Verrill, 1901 *''

Agaricia lamarcki ''Agaricia'' is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Agariciidae. These corals are found in shallow waters of the West Indies. Characteristics Corals in this genus have several different forms but are usually massive, leaf-like or pla ...

'' Milne Edwards & Haime, 1851 *''

Agaricia tenuifolia ''Agaricia tenuifolia'', commonly known as thin leaf lettuce coral, is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Agariciidae. This coral is found in shallow waters in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Description In sheltered waters, ...

'' Dana, 1846 *''

Agaricia undata ''Agaricia'' is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Agariciidae. These corals are found in shallow waters of the West Indies. Characteristics Corals in this genus have several different forms but are usually massive, leaf-like or pla ...

'' (Ellis & Solander, 1786)

References

Agariciidae Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Scleractinia genera {{scleractinia-stub