Brain coral is a

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

given to various

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

s in the

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

Mussidae Mussidae is a family of stony coral in the order Scleractinia. Following a taxonomic revision in 2012, the family is now restricted to species found in the Atlantic Ocean, with Pacific species transferred to the new family Lobophylliidae. Many ...

and

Merulinidae Merulinidae is a family of reef-building stony corals. Characteristics All the genera in this family are colonial, reef-building corals. Skeletal structures are similar to those of Faviidae but are highly fused, without paliform lobes. The valle ...

, so called due to their generally

spheroid A spheroid, also known as an ellipsoid of revolution or rotational ellipsoid, is a quadric surface obtained by rotating an ellipse about one of its principal axes; in other words, an ellipsoid with two equal semi-diameters. A spheroid has cir ...

shape and grooved surface which resembles a

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...

. Each head of coral is formed by a

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

of genetically identical polyps which secrete a hard skeleton of calcium carbonate; this makes them important

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

builders like other

stony coral 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 ...

s in the order

Scleractinia 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 ...

. Brain corals are found in shallow warm water coral reefs in all the world's oceans. They are part of the phylum

Cnidaria Cnidaria () is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic animals found both in freshwater and marine environments, predominantly the latter. Their distinguishing feature is cnidocytes, specialized cells that ...

, in a class called

Anthozoa Anthozoa is a subphylum of marine invertebrates which includes the sea anemones, Scleractinia, stony corals and Alcyonacea, soft corals. Adult anthozoans are almost all attached to the seabed, while their larvae can disperse as part of the plank ...

or "flower animals". The lifespan of the largest brain corals is 900 years. Colonies can grow as large as 1.8 m (6 ft) or more in height. Brain corals extend their tentacles to catch food at night. During the day, they use their tentacles for protection by wrapping them over the grooves on their surface. The surface is hard and offers good protection against fish or

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

s. Branching corals, such as staghorn corals, grow more rapidly, but are more vulnerable to storm damage. Like other genera of corals, brain corals feed on small drifting animals, and also receive nutrients provided by the algae which live within their tissues. The behavior of one of the most common genera, ''

Favia ''Favia'' is a genus of reef-building stony corals in the family Mussidae. Members of the genus are massive or thickly encrusting colonial corals, either dome-shaped or flat, and a few are foliaceous. There is a great diversity of form even among ...

'', is semiaggressive; it will sting other corals with its extended sweeper tentacles during the night. The grooved surface of brain corals has been used by scientists to investigate methods of giving spherical wheels appropriate grip strength.David Gibson
Can a rubber ball reinvent the wheel?
BBC, 8 March 2016

Genera

*''

Barabattoia ''Dipsastraea'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region. They are zooxanthellate corals. Species The following species are currently recognized by the World Register o ...

'' Yabe and Sugiyama, 1941 *''

Bikiniastrea ''Dipsastraea'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region. They are zooxanthellate corals. Species The following species are currently recognized by the World Register o ...

'' Wells, 1954 *''

Caulastraea ''Caulastraea'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Species of ''Caulastraea'' are commonly found in the aquarium trade under the names candy cane coral or trumpet coral. Species The following species are currently recognized ...

'' Dana, 1846 – candy cane coral *''

Colpophyllia ''Colpophyllia'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Mussidae. It is monotypic with a single species, ''Colpophyllia natans'', commonly known as boulder brain coral or large-grooved brain coral. It inhabits the slopes and tops of reefs, to a ...

'' Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848 – boulder brain coral or large-grooved brain coral *''

Cyphastrea ''Cyphastrea'' is a genus of massive reef building stony corals in the family Merulinidae Merulinidae is a family of reef-building stony corals. Characteristics All the genera in this family are colonial, reef-building corals. Skeletal struc ...

'' Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848 *''

Diploastrea ''Diploastrea'' is a genus of corals. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The p ...

'' Matthai, 1914 – diploastrea brain coral or honeycomb coral *''

Diploria ''Diploria'' is a monotypic genus of massive reef building stony corals in the family Mussidae. It is represented by a single species, ''Diploria labyrinthiformis'', commonly known as grooved brain coral and is found in the western Atlantic Ocea ...

'' Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848 – grooved brain coral *''

Echinopora ''Echinopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Species The following species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A ...

'' Lamarck, 1816 *'' Erythrastrea'' Pichon, Scheer and Pillai, 1983 *''

'' Oken, 1815 *''

Favites ''Favites'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region and their ranges extend from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean as far as Japan, the Line Is ...

'' Link, 1807 – moon, pineapple, brain, closed brain, star, worm, or honeycomb coral *''

Goniastrea ''Goniastrea'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Species belonging to the genus ''Goniastrea'' forms massive colonies, usually spherical or elongate, with well developed paliform lobes. Polyps can be seen only at night. Spe ...

'' Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848 *'' Leptastrea'' Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848 *''

Leptoria ''Leptoria'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are known as brain corals or closed brain corals. They are native to the Indo-Pacific region and their ranges extend from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocea ...

'' Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848 – great star coral *''

Manicina ''Manicina'' is a genus of reef-building Scleractinia, stony corals in the Family (biology), family Mussidae. Species The following species are included in the genus according to the World Register of Marine Species: * ''Manicina areolata'' (Li ...

'' Ehrenberg, 1834 *'' Montastraea'' de Blainville, 1830 – great star coral *'' Moseleya'' Quelch, 1884 *'' Oulastrea'' Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848 *''

Oulophyllia ''Oulophyllia'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the tropical western and central Indo-Pacific region. Characteristics The colonies of these corals are massive and form dome-shaped mounds, ...

'' Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848 *'' Parasimplastrea'' Sheppard, 1985 *'' Platygyra'' Ehrenberg, 1834 *''

Plesiastrea ''Plesiastraea'' is a genus of corals. It is the only genus in the monotypic Family (biology), family Plesiastreidae. Species The following species are recognized in the genus ''Plesiastraea'': * †''Plesiastrea costata'' (Duncan, 1880) * †' ...

'' Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848 *'' Solenastrea'' Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848

Gallery

File:Brain coral spawning.jpg, Brain coral

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquat ...

File:Mozgovity koral.jpg, Brain coral,

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

near Esperanza on the island of

Vieques, Puerto Rico Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ...

File:Koral mozgovity hranica.jpg,

Black band disease Black band disease is a coral disease in which corals develop a black band. It is characterized by complete tissue degradation due to a pathogenic microbial consortium. The mat is present between apparently healthy coral tissue and freshly expo ...

on a brain coral in

near Bahia de la Chiva on the island of Vieques File:Close-up of a brain coral near Nusa Kode Island, Indonesia.JPG, Close-up of a brain coral near Nusa Kode Island,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

File:Diploria_closeup_FL.jpg, Closeup of ''Diploria strigosa'',

Snapper Ledge Snapper Ledge is a small coral reef located within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It lies to the southeast of Key Largo, to the south the Key Largo Existing Management Area and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Unlike many reefs ...

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

File:Diploria_SanSalvador1.jpg, ''Diploria clivosa'' (dead),

San Salvador Island San Salvador Island (known as Watling's Island from the 1680s until 1925) is an island and district of The Bahamas. It is widely believed that during Christopher Columbus's first expedition to the New World, this island was the first land h ...

, Bahamas File:Fossil Reef Windley Key 1.jpg,

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

''Diploria'' at the

Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park is a Florida State Park located at mile marker 85.5 near Islamorada. It was a former quarry used by Henry Flagler in the early 1900s to help his building of the Overseas Railroad. Following the railr ...

, of

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

age File:Diploria Strigosa.jpg, ''Diploria strigosa'', in the near shore waters of

Key West, FL Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

File:Diploria labyrinthiformis.jpg, Close up of ''Diploria labyrinthiformis'' with visible polyps,

References

{{corals Scleractinia Invertebrate common names Polyphyletic groups