''Isophyllia'' 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 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 ...

in the subfamily Mussinae of 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 ...

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 ...

Characteristics

''Isophyllia'' is a

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

coral. Budding is always intracalicular, occurring inside the oral disc of the polyp, within the whorl of tentacles. 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 meandroid, that is, they are linked in a short series of up to five centres. The individual corallites are medium-sized, being in diameter and up to high. There are three or more cycles of

septa The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

in each corallite, all equal in size. A narrow

costate The costate equation is related to the state equation used in optimal control. It is also referred to as auxiliary, adjoint, influence, or multiplier equation. It is stated as a vector (geometry), vector of first order differential equations : \dot ...

coenosteum separates the corallites.

Species

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 ...

lists the following species : *''

Isophyllia rigida ''Isophyllia'' is a genus of stony coral in the subfamily Mussinae of the family Mussidae. Characteristics ''Isophyllia'' is a colonial coral. Budding is always intracalicular, occurring inside the oral disc of the polyp, within the whorl of t ...

'' (Dana, 1848) *''

Isophyllia sinuosa ''Isophyllia sinuosa'', the sinuous cactus coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Mussidae. It is found in shallow water in the tropical western Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea. Description and habitat ''Isophyllia sinuosa'' is a massi ...

'' (Ellis & Solander, 1786)

References

Mussinae Scleractinia genera {{scleractinia-stub