''Schizoculina fissipara'' is a

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 ...

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 ...

stony

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 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 the polyps) being composed of solid walled though rather fragile tubes con ...

found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on the western coast of Africa.Family Oculinidae: ''Schizoculina''
Horizon. Retrieved 2011-12-15.

Description

''Schizoculina fissipara'' can have an upright growth habit or be encrusting, sometimes extending over . The upright branches are blueish grey or pale brown. 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 which house the polyps are circular and up to in diameter. Sometimes several of them are linked in series. ''Schizoculina fissipara'' has a

symbiotic relationship 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 ...

with

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 ''Symbi ...

microalgae Microalgae or microphytes are microscopic algae invisible to the naked eye. They are phytoplankton typically found in freshwater and marine systems, living in both the water column and sediment. They are unicellular species which exist indiv ...

that live within the tissue of the polyp.''Schizoculina fissipara''
EDGE. Retrieved 2011-12-15.

References

Oculinidae Animals described in 1850 Taxa named by Henri Milne-Edwards Taxa named by Jules Haime {{scleractinia-stub