Oculinidae is 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 ...

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 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 ...

Characteristics

Members of the family Oculinidae are characterised by having the walls of 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 (the cups which house the polyps) being composed of solid walled though rather fragile tubes connected by a smooth skeletal material called

coenosteum In corals, the coenosteum is the stony skeletal material secreted by the coenosarc, the layer of living material lying between the corallites (the stony cups in which the polyps sit). The coenosteum is composed of aragonite Aragonite is a carbo ...

. The corallites are widely spaced and robust. The

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 ...

(ridges on the corallite walls) curve noticeably outward giving the coral a spiky appearance. Many species in this family form a

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 ...

relationship with the

flagellate A flagellate is a cell or organism with one or more whip-like appendages called flagella. The word ''flagellate'' also describes a particular construction (or level of organization) characteristic of many prokaryotes and eukaryotes and their ...

protozoa Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...

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 which live within the tissues of the polyps. These are

photosynthetic Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in c ...

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

that provide nutrients for the polyps while themselves benefiting from a safe environment and an elevated, sunny position.Galaxy Corals, Family Oculinidae
Wet Web Media.com. Retrieved 2011-12-15.

Genera

The World Register of Marine Species lists the following genera: * '' Bantamia'' Yabe & Eguchi, 1943 † * '' Bathelia'' Moseley, 1881 * '' Cyathelia'' Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1849 * ''

Madrepora Madrepora (Spanish, "mother of pores") is a genus of stony corals, often found forming reefs or islands in tropical locations. The names Madrepore and Madreporaria were formerly applied universally to any stony coral of the family Scleractinia. T ...

'' Linnaeus, 1758 * ''

Oculina ''Oculina'' is a genus of colonial stony coral in the family Oculinidae. These corals are mostly found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Bermuda Petrophyllia ''Petrophyllia'' is a genus of corals belonging to the family Oculinidae Oculinidae is a family of colonial corals. Characteristics Members of the family Oculinidae are characterised by having the walls of the corallites (the cups which house ...

'' Conrad, 1855 * ''

Schizoculina ''Schizoculina '' is a genus of reef-building stony corals in the family Oculinidae. Species The following species are included in the genus according to the World Register of Marine Species: * '' Schizoculina africana'' (Thiel, 1928) * ''Schiz ...

'' Wells, 1937 * '' Sclerhelia'' Milne Edwards & Haime, 1850

Distribution

The genera ''

Oculina ''Oculina'' is a genus of colonial stony coral in the family Oculinidae. These corals are mostly found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Bermuda Schizoculina ''Schizoculina '' is a genus of reef-building stony corals in the family Oculinidae. Species The following species are included in the genus according to the World Register of Marine Species: * '' Schizoculina africana'' (Thiel, 1928) * ''Schiz ...

'' are found in the Atlantic Ocean. Most species are uncommon.Family Oculinidae
Horizon. Retrieved 2011-12-15.

References

Taxa named by John Edward Gray Scleractinia Cnidarian families {{scleractinia-stub