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 ...
of
octocoral
Octocorallia (also known as Alcyonaria) is a class of Anthozoa comprising around 3,000 species of water-based organisms formed of colonial polyps with 8-fold symmetry. It includes the blue coral, soft corals, sea pens, and gorgonians (sea fan ...
s 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 ...
Melithaeidae
''Melithaeidae'' is a family of corals in the suborder Scleraxonia. Members of the family are commonly known as sea fans and are found on reefs in the tropical regions of the Indo-Pacific.type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
is ''
Melithaea ochracea
''Melithaea ochracea'' is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Melithaeidae, commonly known as knotted fan coral. It grows in tree-like fans on coral reefs in the South China Sea. It is used in the jewellery industry under the name red ...
''.''Melithaea'' Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
Description
Members of the genus ''Melithaea'' are arborescent
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 forming fan, bush or tree shapes. The axis or main skeletal "trunk" is jointed, there being nodes, flexible horny joints, separated by internodes composed of hard, calcareous material. The branches divide off at the nodes which are often swollen. The minute calcareous spicules in the flexible membrane called the
mesoglea
Mesoglea refers to the extracellular matrix found in cnidarians like coral or jellyfish that functions as a hydrostatic skeleton. It is related to but distinct from mesohyl, which generally refers to extracellular material found in sponges.
Descr ...
that covers the skeleton are called
sclerite
A sclerite (Greek , ', meaning "hard") is a hardened body part. In various branches of biology the term is applied to various structures, but not as a rule to vertebrate anatomical features such as bones and teeth. Instead it refers most commonly ...
s. The identity of these spicules is important for identification purposes and in this genus they are predominantly double discs and small disc-spindles, but also include plain spindles, capstans and small clubs. Members of this genus do not have the unicellular
symbiotic
Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...
algae
Zooxanthellae
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 ''Sy ...
in their tissues that many other corals do. Colonies vary in colour but tend to be shades of yellow, orange, red and brown.
Ecological significance
These corals are one of several genera of sea fan that can be hosts to a species of
pygmy seahorse
The pygmy seahorses comprise several species of tiny seahorse in the syngnathid family or Syngnathidae (seahorses and pipefish). Family Syngnathidae is part of order Syngnathiformes, which contains fishes with fused jaws that suck food into tubu ...
, the Denise's pygmy seahorse ''(Hippocampus denise).''
Species
The World Register of Marine Species includes 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 ...
Melithaea albitincta
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea amboinensis'' (Hentschel, 1903)
*''
Melithaea andamanensis
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea arborea'' (Kükenthal, 1908)
*''
Melithaea atrorubens
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea aurantia
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea australis
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea baladea
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea bicolor
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea biserialis
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea boninensis
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea braueri
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea caledonica
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea capensis
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea cinquemiglia
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea clavigera
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea coccinea
''Melithaea'' is a genus of Octocorallia, octocorals in the family (biology), family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is ''Melithaea ochracea'' ...
Melithaea doederleini
''Melithaea'' is a genus of Octocorallia, octocorals in the family (biology), family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is ''Melithaea ochracea'' ...
Melithaea ellisi
''Melithaea'' is a genus of Octocorallia, octocorals in the family (biology), family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is ''Melithaea ochracea'' ...
Melithaea flabellata
''Melithaea'' is a genus of Octocorallia, octocorals in the family (biology), family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is ''Melithaea ochracea'' ...
Melithaea harbereri
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea hendersoni'' Reijnen, McFadden, Hermanlimianto & van Ofwegen, 2014
*'' Melithaea hicksoni'' (Nutting, 1911)
*'' Melithaea isonoi'' Matsumoto & van Ofwegen, 2015
*'' Melithaea japonica'' (Verrill, 1865)
*†''
Melithaea ochracea
''Melithaea ochracea'' is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Melithaeidae, commonly known as knotted fan coral. It grows in tree-like fans on coral reefs in the South China Sea. It is used in the jewellery industry under the name red ...
Melithaea pulchella
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea pulchra'' (Hickson, 1937)
*''
Melithaea ramulosa
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea retifera'' (Lamarck, 1816)
*''
Melithaea robusta
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea roemeri'' (Kükenthal, 1908)
*''
Melithaea rubeola
''Melithaea'' is a genus of Octocorallia, octocorals in the family (biology), family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is ''Melithaea ochracea'' ...
Melithaea sagamiensis
''Melithaea'' is a genus of Octocorallia, octocorals in the family (biology), family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is ''Melithaea ochracea'' ...
'' Matsumoto & van Ofwegen, 2015
*''
Melithaea sanguinea
''Melithaea'' is a genus of Octocorallia, octocorals in the family (biology), family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is ''Melithaea ochracea'' ...
Melithaea serrata
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea shanni'' Reijnen, McFadden, Hermanlimianto & van Ofwegen, 2014
*'' Melithaea sinaica'' (Grasshoff, 2000)
*'' Melithaea singularis'' (Thomson, 1916)
*'' Melithaea sinuata'' (Wright & Studer, 1889)
*'' Melithaea spinosa'' (Kükenthal, 1878)
*''
Melithaea thomsoni
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea thorpeae
''Melithaea'' is a genus of octocorals in the family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is '' Melithaea ochracea''.Melithaea tokaraensis'' Matsumoto & van Ofwegen, 2015
*'' Melithaea tongaensis'' (Kükenthal, 1908)
*'' Melithaea triangulata'' (Nutting, 1911)
*'' Melithaea trilineata'' (Thomson, 1917)
*'' Melithaea undulata'' (Kükenthal, 1908)
*'' Melithaea valdiviae'' (Kükenthal, 1908)
*'' Melithaea variabilis'' (Hickson, 1905)
*''
Melithaea virgata
''Melithaea'' is a genus of Octocorallia, octocorals in the family (biology), family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is ''Melithaea ochracea'' ...
'' (Verrill, 1846)
*''
Melithaea wrighti
''Melithaea'' is a genus of Octocorallia, octocorals in the family (biology), family Melithaeidae. Members of the genus are commonly known as fan corals and are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The type species is ''Melithaea ochracea'' ...