''Favites'' 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 ...

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 ...

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 vall ...

. 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 Islands The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands (in Gilbertese, ''Aono Raina'') are a chain of 11 atolls (with partly or fully enclosed lagoons) and coral islands (with a surrounding reef) in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawa ...

and the

Tuamotu Islands The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (french: Îles Tuamotu, officially ) are a French Polynesian chain of just under 80 islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extendin ...

Characteristics

Colonies can be encrusting but are usually massive and dome-shaped. 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 are mostly cerioid (sharing a common wall), but some are plocoid (with an individual wall) and the palliform lobes are indistinct, which distinguishes these corals from the otherwise similar ''

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 ...

''.

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 species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

are currently recognized by the

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ...

: *''

Favites abdita ''Favites abdita'', also known as the larger star coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region and its range extends from East Africa and the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean to the Western ...

'' (Ellis & Solander, 1786) *''

Favites acuticollis ''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 ...

'' (Ortmann, 1889) *''

Favites chinensis ''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 ...

'' (Verrill, 1866) *''

Favites colemani ''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 I ...

'' (Veron, 2000) *'' Favites complanata'' (Ehrenberg, 1834) *'' Favites favosa'' (Ellis & Solander, 1786) *'' Favites flexuosa'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Favites halicora'' (Ehrenberg, 1834) *'' Favites magnistellata'' (Chevalier, 1971) *''

Favites melicerum ''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 I ...

'' (Ehrenberg, 1834) *''

Favites micropentagonus ''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 I ...

'' Veron, 2000 *''

Favites monticularis ''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 I ...

'' Mondal, Raghunathan & Venkataraman, 2013 *''

Favites paraflexuosus ''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 ...

'' Veron, 2000 *''

Favites pentagona ''Favites pentagona'' is a species of stony coral in the family Merulinidae, sometimes known as larger star coral. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region and its range extends from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean to the Western Pacific Ocea ...

'' (Esper, 1795) *''

Favites rotundata ''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 ...

'' Veron, Pichon & Wijsman-Best, 1977 *''

Favites solidocolumellae ''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 ...

'' Latypov, 2006 *''

Favites spinosa ''Favites spinosa'' is a species of stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region, its range extending from the eastern coast of Africa through the Indian Ocean to the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. Descripti ...

'' (Klunzinger, 1879) *''

Favites stylifera ''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 ...

'' Yabe & Sugiyama, 1937 *'' Favites valenciennesi'' (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849) *'' Favites vasta'' (Klunzinger, 1879) Faviidae - Favites species

Fossil record

Fossils of ''Favites'' are found in marine strata from the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

to the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

(age range: from 161.2 to 0.0 million years ago.). Fossils are known from many localities in Europe, Indonesia, Philippines, Africa, North America, South America, Pakistan, Japan and India. The Paleobiology Database
/ref>

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3948799 Merulinidae Scleractinia genera