The Meandrinidae are a

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 ...

of stony corals. The name comes from the Greek, ''maiandros'' meaning "meandering", referring to the miniature, winding valleys found between the corallites. Fossil corals in this family have been found dating back to the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

.Family Meandrinidae
Classification of Scleractinian (Stony) Corals. Retrieved 2011-12-20.

Description

The Meandrinidae are

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 ...

corals and form part of the reef- building community. They contain

zooxanthella Zooxanthellae is a colloquial term for single-celled dinoflagellates that are able to live in symbiosis with diverse marine invertebrates including demosponges, corals, jellyfish, and nudibranchs. Most known zooxanthellae are in the genus '' Sym ...

e, microscopic algae symbionts that provide them with energy. They occur in various different shapes, including massive, encrusting, columnar, and phaceloid (with tubular corallites united at the base). Although superficially resembling members of the family

Faviidae 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 ...

, the corallites of meandrinids have solid, nonporous walls and evenly spaced, solid septa. Most of the genera are found only in the Atlantic Ocean, but ''Ctenella'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

and parts of the Indian Ocean.

Genera

The World Register of Marine Species includes these

genera 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 nomenclat ...

in the family: *''

Dendrogyra Pillar coral (''Dendrogyra cylindrus'') is a hard coral (order Scleractinia) found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Dendrogyra''. It is a digitate coral -that is, it resembles fi ...

'' *''

Dichocoenia ''Dichocoenia'' is a monotypic genus of stony coral in the family Meandrinidae. It is represented by a single species, ''Dichocoenia stokesii'', which is commonly known as pineapple coral, elliptical star coral, or pancake star coral. It is found ...

'' *''

Eusmilia ''Eusmilia'' is a genus of stony coral in the family Meandrinidae. It is a monotypic genus represented by the species ''Eusmilia fastigiata'', commonly known as the smooth flower coral. It is found on reefs in the Caribbean Sea. Description Smoo ...

'' *''

Meandrina ''Meandrina'' is a genus of colonial stony coral in the family Meandrinidae The Meandrinidae are a family of stony corals. The name comes from the Greek, ''maiandros'' meaning "meandering", referring to the miniature, winding valleys found b ...

'' Lamarck, 1801

References

Scleractinia Cnidarian families {{scleractinia-stub