''Rhytidocystis'' is a genus of

apicomplexa The Apicomplexa (also called Apicomplexia) are a large phylum of parasitic alveolates. Most of them possess a unique form of organelle that comprises a type of non-photosynthetic plastid called an apicoplast, and an apical complex structure. T ...

ns. This genus is parasitic on scleractinian corals ('' Agaricia agaricites'', ''

Dendrogyra cylindrus Pillar coral (''Dendrogyra cylindrus'') is a hard coral (order Scleractinia) found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Dendrogyra''. It is a digitate coral -that is, it resembles fi ...

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Diploria strigosa ''Pseudodiploria strigosa'', the symmetrical brain coral, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Mussidae. It occurs on reefs in shallow water in the West Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It grows slowly and lives to a great age. De ...

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Meandrina meandrites ''Meandrina meandrites'', commonly known as maze coral, is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Meandrinidae. It is found primarily on outer coral reef slopes in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Description ''Meandrina meandr ...

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Montastraea cavernosa ''Montastraea'' is a genus of colonial stony coral found in the Caribbean seas. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Montastraeidae and contains a single species, ''Montastraea cavernosa'', known as great star coral. It forms into massiv ...

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Porites astreoides ''Porites astreoides'', commonly known as mustard hill coral or yellow porites, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Poritidae. It is a common species in the Caribbean Sea and western tropical Atlantic Ocean in North, Central, and ...

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Porites porites ''Porites porites'', commonly known as hump coral or finger coral, is a species of stony coral in the genus ''Porites''. It is found in the Caribbean Sea and western Atlantic Ocean and also along the coast of West Africa. Description ''Porites p ...

'') and is found in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. Very little is known about the species in this genus. ''G. cylindrus'' was isolated from within the gastrodermal cells of the mesenterial filaments of the coral. Only the

oocyst Apicomplexans, a group of intracellular parasites, have life cycle stages that allow them to survive the wide variety of environments they are exposed to during their complex life cycle. Each stage in the life cycle of an apicomplexan organism i ...

s and released

sporozoite Apicomplexans, a group of intracellular parasites, have life cycle stages that allow them to survive the wide variety of environments they are exposed to during their complex life cycle. Each stage in the life cycle of an apicomplexan organism i ...

s have been described. The parasites were isolated from bleached coral but their role if any in this sign is not known.

Taxonomy

There is one species known in this genus

References

Apicomplexa genera {{Apicomplexa-stub