''Oulophyllia'' 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 corals 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 mo ...

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 ...

Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the tropical western and central Indo-Pacific region.

Characteristics

The colonies of these corals are massive and form dome-shaped mounds, similar to '' Favites'', but 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 arranged in valleys with broad ridges between them.

Species

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 ...

are currently recognized by 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 ...

: *'' Oulophyllia bennettae'' (Veron, Pichon & Best, 1977) *'' Oulophyllia crispa'' (Lamarck, 1816) *'' Oulophyllia levis'' (Nemenzo, 1959)

References

Merulinidae Scleractinia genera {{scleractinia-stub