''Acanthastrea'' is a genus of large polyp 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 ...

s in the family

Lobophylliidae Lobophylliidae is a family of large polyp stony corals. The family was created in 2009 after a revision of the "robust" families of Faviidae, Merulinidae, Mussidae and Pectiniidae, which had been shown to be polyphyletic. The family Lobophylliida ...

. The

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are massive and usually flat. The corallites are either circular or angular in shape. 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 c ...

are thick near the wall of the corallite, becoming thin near the

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, and have tall teeth. The polyps are extended only at night. The genus contains the following species: * '' Acanthastrea brevis'' Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849 * '' Acanthastrea echinata'' (Dana, 1846) * '' Acanthastrea hemprichii'' (Ehrenberg, 1834) * '' Acanthastrea minuta'' Moll & Best, 1984 * '' Acanthastrea pachysepta'' (Chevalier, 1975) * '' Acanthastrea polygonalis''† Martin, 1880 * '' Acanthastrea rotundoflora'' Chevalier, 1975 * '' Acanthastrea subechinata'' Veron, 2002

References

Lobophylliidae Scleractinia genera {{Scleractinia-stub