''Favites'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of stony corals in the

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 purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 ...

. 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 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 corallites 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 specialis ...

: *''

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'' (Ortmann, 1889) *'' Favites chinensis'' (Verrill, 1866) *'' Favites colemani'' (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'' (Ehrenberg, 1834) *'' Favites micropentagonus'' Veron, 2000 *'' Favites monticularis'' Mondal, Raghunathan & Venkataraman, 2013 *'' Favites paraflexuosus'' Veron, 2000 *''

Favites pentagona ''Favites pentagona'' is a species of Scleractinia, stony coral in the family (biology), 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 O ...

'' (Esper, 1795) *'' Favites rotundata'' Veron, Pichon & Wijsman-Best, 1977 *'' Favites solidocolumellae'' Latypov, 2006 *'' Favites spinosa'' (Klunzinger, 1879) *'' Favites stylifera'' 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 geologic period and 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 Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

to the Quaternary (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
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References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3948799 Merulinidae Scleractinia genera