''Porolithon'' is a genus of red algae comprising 24 species. The ''Porolithon'' are the primary

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

building algae. When coral reefs reach sea level, the

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 ...

s break under the high energy impact of the

wave In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (re ...

s, while the coralline red algae, primarily ''Porolithon'', continuing building and cementing the reef structure.

Species

Accepted species in the genus are: # '' Porolithon aequinoctiale'' (Foslie) Foslie # '' Porolithon antillarum'' (Foslie & M.Howe) Foslie & M.Howe # '' Porolithon castellum'' E.Y.Dawson # '' Porolithon colliculosum'' Masaki # '' Porolithon imitatum'' R.A.Townsend & G.W.Saunders # '' Porolithon improcerum'' (Foslie & M.Howe) M.Howe # '' Porolithon maneveldtii'' R.A.Townsend & Huisman # '' Porolithon marshallense'' W.R.Taylor # '' Porolithon oligocarpum'' (Foslie) W.H.Adey # '' Porolithon onkodes'' (Heydrich) Foslie - tip # '' Porolithon penroseae'' R.A.Townsend & P.W.Gabrielson # '' Porolithon praetextatum'' (Foslie) Foslie # '' Porolithon sandvicense'' (Foslie) Foslie # '' Porolithon sonorense'' E.Y.Dawson

References

Corallinaceae Red algae genera {{Rhodophyta-stub