''Turbinaria'' 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 ...

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 corals 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 ...

Dendrophylliidae Dendrophylliidae is a family of stony corals. Most (but not all) members are azooxanthellate and thus have to capture food with their tentacles instead of relying on photosynthesis to produce their food. The World Register of Marine Species incl ...

. Common names for this genus include disc coral, scroll coral, cup coral, vase coral, pagoda coral and ruffled ridge coral. These corals are native to the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Japan and the south Central Pacific Ocean.

Characteristics

Members of this genus may be massive, laminar, columnar or foliaceous, but foliaceous is the most common form. They may form plates, discs or tiered structures, usually with 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 (skeletal cups in which the polyps sit) only on one surface. The corallites have porous walls and may be sunk into the surrounding

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 ...

(skeletal tissue), or form tubular raised mounds. 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 ...

(vertical blades in the corallites) are short and arranged neatly and the columella (central point where the septa join) is broad. The coenosteum is dense and heavy. Most species are nocturnal, with the polyps expanding only at night, but '' Turbinaria peltata'' is an exception to this.

Ecology

Members of this genus are

hermatypic Hermatypic corals are those corals in the order Scleractinia which build reefs by depositing hard calcareous material for their skeletons, forming the stony framework of the reef. Corals that do not contribute to coral reef development are referred ...

(reef-building) corals. They are

zooxanthellate 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 ''Sy ...

, meaning that they contain

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 ...

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 ...

protist A protist () is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the exc ...

s in their tissues, and are found in shallow waters where sunshine penetrates. They are one of only three

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

in the family Dendrophylliidae with this capability, the other genera being azooxanthellate (without zooxanthellae) and found in deeper waters. The

crown-of-thorns starfish The crown-of-thorns starfish (frequently abbreviated to COTS), ''Acanthaster planci'', is a large starfish that preys upon hard, or stony, coral polyps (Scleractinia). The crown-of-thorns starfish receives its name from venomous thorn-like spine ...

(''Acanthaster planci'') has been causing much damage to many species of coral in the Indo-Pacific region but ''Turbinaria'' sp. are seldom attacked.

Conservation status

The conservation status of several species in this genus is listed by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

as " vulnerable". Like other corals, the main threats they face are

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

and

ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the reduction in the pH value of the Earth’s ocean. Between 1751 and 2021, the average pH value of the ocean surface has decreased from approximately 8.25 to 8.14. The root cause of ocean acidification is carbon dioxid ...

. Rising sea water temperatures causes stress to the corals resulting in bleaching events and greater incidence of coral disease, and ocean acidification puts at risk their calcium carbonate skeletal structure. Storms seem to be increasing in severity and fishing activities can also damage reefs. Other threats include tourism, pollution, sedimentation and the introduction of alien species. Population trend statistics have not been gathered for individual species, but the general decline in coral reef habitat is used as a proxy for population decline in these corals.

Use in aquaria

''Turbinaria'' spp. are sometimes kept in

reef aquaria A reef aquarium or reef tank is a marine aquarium that prominently displays live corals and other marine invertebrates as well as fish that play a role in maintaining the tropical coral reef environment. A reef aquarium requires appropriately ...

. They are hardy corals that are non-aggressive, and do best in well-lit conditions with moderate to high water movement.

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 listed 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 ...

: *'' Turbinaria bifrons'' Brüggemann, 1877 *'' Turbinaria carcarensis'' Nemenzo, 1971 *''

Turbinaria conspicua ''Turbinaria conspicua'', commonly known as Disc coral, is a species of colonial a stony coral in the family Dendrophylliidae. Found abundant in the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific region, including Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and n ...

'' Bernard, 1896 *'' Turbinaria cyathiformis''† Blainville, 1830 *'' Turbinaria cylindrica'' Nemenzo, 1960 *'' Turbinaria disparata'' Nemenzo, 1980 *'' Turbinaria eminens'' Nemenzo, 1971 *''

Turbinaria frondens ''Turbinaria frondens'', commonly known as disc coral, is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Dendrophylliidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region. It is a zooxanthellate coral that houses symbiont dinoflagellates in its tissue ...

'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Turbinaria heronensis'' Wells, 1958 *''

Turbinaria irregularis ''Turbinaria irregularis'', commonly known as disc coral, is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Dendrophylliidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region and is rated as a least-concern species. It is a zooxanthellate coral that hou ...

'' Bernard, 1896 *'' Turbinaria mesenterina'' (Lamarck, 1816) *'' Turbinaria nitida'' Nemenzo, 1960 *'' Turbinaria patula'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Turbinaria peltata'' (Esper, 1794) *'' Turbinaria radicalis'' Bernard, 1896 *'' Turbinaria reniformis'' Bernard, 1896 *'' Turbinaria stellulata'' (Lamarck, 1816)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3542251 Dendrophylliidae Scleractinia genera