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''Orbicella annularis'', commonly known as the boulder star coral, is a species of
''Orbicella annularis'', commonly known as the boulder star coral, is a species of coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...
that lives in the western Atlantic Ocean and is the most thoroughly studied and most abundant species of reef-building coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...
in the Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
to date. It also has a comprehensive fossil record within the Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
. This species complex has long been considered a generalist that exists at depths between 0 and 80 meters that grew into varying colony shapes (heads, columns, plates) in response to differing light conditions. Only recently with the help of molecular techniques has ''O. annularis'' been shown to be a complex of at least three separate species.Knowlton, N.; Budd, A. F. 2001. "Recognizing coral species present and past. In: Jackson JBC, Lidgard, S.; McKinney, F. K. (eds) "Evolutionary Patterns: growth, form, and tempo in the fossil record" Those species are divided into ''O. annularis'', '' O. faveolata'', and '' O. franksi''. This coral was originally described as ''Montastraea annularis''.
References
Further reading
* Lopez, J.V., Kersanach, R., Rehner, S.A., Knowlton, N. (1999) Molecular determination of species boundaries in corals: Genetic analysis of the Montastraea annularis complex using amplified fragment length polymorphisms and a microsatellite marker. Biol. Bull. 196:80-93. * Fukami H, Budd AF, Levitan DR, Jara J, Kersanach R, Knowlton N. (2004) Geographic differences in species boundaries among members of the Montastraea annularis complex based on molecular and morphological markers. Evolution. 2004 Feb;58(2):324-37.External links
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q22106243 Merulinidae Coral reefs Corals described in 1786 ESA threatened species