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Brain Coral
Brain coral is a common name given to various corals in the families Mussidae and Merulinidae, so called due to their generally spheroid shape and grooved surface which resembles a brain. Each head of coral is formed by a colony of genetically identical polyps which secrete a hard skeleton of calcium carbonate; this makes them important coral reef builders like other stony corals in the order Scleractinia. Brain corals are found in shallow warm water coral reefs in all the world's oceans. They are part of the phylum Cnidaria, in a class called Anthozoa or "flower animals". The lifespan of the largest brain corals is 900 years. Colonies can grow as large as 1.8 m (6 ft) or more in height. Brain corals extend their tentacles to catch food at night. During the day, they use their tentacles for protection by wrapping them over the grooves on their surface. The surface is hard and offers good protection against fish or hurricanes. Branching corals, such as staghorn co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Favites Abdita
''Favites'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region and their ranges extend from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean as far as Japan, the Line Islands and the Tuamotu Islands. Characteristics Colonies can be encrusting but are usually massive and dome-shaped. The corallites are mostly cerioid (sharing a common wall), but some are plocoid (with an individual wall) and the palliform lobes are indistinct, which distinguishes these corals from the otherwise similar ''Goniastrea''. Species The following species are currently recognized 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 catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ... : *'' Favites abdita'' (Ellis & Solander, 1786) *'' Favi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cnidaria
Cnidaria ( ) is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic invertebrates found both in fresh water, freshwater and marine environments (predominantly the latter), including jellyfish, hydroid (zoology), hydroids, sea anemones, corals and some of the smallest marine parasites. Their distinguishing features are an uncentralized nervous system distributed throughout a gelatinous body and the presence of cnidocytes or cnidoblasts, specialized cells with ejectable flagella used mainly for envenomation and capturing prey. Their bodies consist of mesoglea, a non-living, jelly-like substance, sandwiched between two layers of epithelium that are mostly one cell (biology), cell thick. Cnidarians are also some of the few animals that can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Cnidarians mostly have two basic body forms: swimming medusa (biology), medusae and sessility (motility), sessile polyp (zoology), polyps, both of which are radially symmetrical with mou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echinopora
''Echinopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Species The following species are currently recognized: * '' Echinopora ashmorensis'' Veron, 1990 * '' Echinopora forskaliana'' (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849) * ''Echinopora fruticulosa'' Klunzinger, 1879 * '' Echinopora gemmacea'' (Lamarck, 1816) * ''Echinopora hirsutissima'' Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849 * ''Echinopora horrida'' Dana, 1846 * '' Echinopora irregularis'' Veron, Turak & DeVantier, 2000 * '' Echinopora lamellosa'' (Esper, 1795) * ''Echinopora mammiformis'' (Nemenzo, 1959) * ''Echinopora pacificus'' Veron, 1990 * ''Echinopora robusta'' Veron, 2000 * ''Echinopora spinulosa'' Brüggemann * ''Echinopora tiranensis ''Echinopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Species The following species are currently recognized: * '' Echinopora ashmorensis'' Veron, 1990 * '' Echinopora forskaliana'' (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849) * ''Echinopor ...'' Veron, Turak & DeVantier, 2000 Ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diploria
''Diploria'' is a monotypic genus of massive reef building stony corals in the family Mussidae. It is represented by a single species, ''Diploria labyrinthiformis'', commonly known as grooved brain coral and is found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It has a familiar, maze-like appearance. Description This species of reef-building coral has a hemispherical, brain-like shape with a brown, yellow, or grey colour. It has characteristic deep, interconnected double-valleys. These polyp-bearing valleys are each separated by grooved ambulacral ridges. There may be a difference in colour between the valleys and the grooves. ''Diploria labyrinthiformis'' can grow upward at a rate of approximately 3.5 millimeters per year, achieving about in diameter. During its planktonic larval stage, the coral has locomotion. After that time, it becomes permanently sessile. This species is a suspension feeder, and survives mainly on zooplankton and bacteria. These are captured by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Matthai
George Matthai (13 November 1887 – 22 June 1947) was an Indian zoologist who specialized in marine biology, contributing to the systematics of Madreporarian (now Scleractinia) corals. He was a professor of zoology at the Panjab University in Lahore. Life and career He returned to India in 1918 and worked at the department of zoology at the Panjab University, Lahore. He received a ScD from the University of Cambridge in 1929. He succeeded Lt. Col. J. Stephenson in 1919 and his retirement in 1942 was postponed to 1945 due to the war. Matthai married Mary Chandy, daughter of C. Chandy of the Mysore Civil Service and later vice chancellor of Mysore University, in 1925. They had a son, Ariel, and after her death in 1931, Matthai married Rosalinda Hedwig in 1935. Matthai was elected Fellow of the Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their hab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diploastrea
''Diploastrea'' is the only genus of corals in its monotypic family, Diploastreidae, containing the extant '' Diploastrea heliopora'' (Lamarck, 1816) and the extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ... '' Diploastrea polygonalis'' (Martin, 1880). References Scleractinia genera Diploastreidae {{scleractinia-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyphastrea
''Cyphastrea'' is a genus of massive reef building stony corals in the family Merulinidae Merulinidae is a Family (biology), family of reef-building Scleractinia, stony corals. Characteristics All the genera in this family are colonial, reef-building corals. Skeletal structures are similar to those of Faviidae but are highly fused, w ..., commonly known as brain coral. Species The World Register of Marine Species lists the following species: *'' Cyphastrea agassizi'' (Vaughan, 1907) - Agassiz's brain coralFenner, Douglas (2005). ''Corals of Hawai'i : field guide to the hard, black, and soft corals of Hawai'i and the northwest Hawaiian Islands, including Midway.'' Honolulu, Hawai'i: Mutual Pub. . *'' Cyphastrea chalcidicum'' (Forsskål, 1775) *'' Cyphastrea decadia'' Moll & Best, 1984 *'' Cyphastrea hexasepta'' Veron, Turak & DeVantier, 2000 *'' Cyphastrea japonica'' Yabe & Sugiyama, 1932 *'' Cyphastrea kausti'' Bouwmeester & Benzoni, 2015 *'' Cyphastrea magna'' Benzoni & ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colpophyllia
''Colpophyllia'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Mussidae. It is monotypic with a single species, ''Colpophyllia natans'', commonly known as boulder brain coral or large-grooved brain coral. It inhabits the slopes and tops of reefs, to a maximum depth of . It is characterised by large, domed colonies, which may be up to across, and by the meandering network of ridges and valleys on its surface. The ridges are usually brown with a single groove, and the valleys may be tan, green, or white and are uniform in width, typically . The polyps only extend their tentacles at night. Description Individual colonies of ''Colpophyllia natans'' are large and usually broadly domed, with curvature typically increasing with the size, and therefore age, of the colony. They grow up to in diameter and morphologically earn the epithet "boulder." Colony shape may occasionally be flat-topped discs, particularly when younger. As a type of brain coral, the surface of the skeleton is a netw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caulastraea
''Caulastraea'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Species of ''Caulastraea'' are commonly found in the aquarium trade under the names candy cane coral or trumpet coral. Species The following species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ... are currently recognized: *'' Caulastraea connata'' (Ortmann, 1892) *'' Caulastraea curvata'' Wijsman-Best, 1972 *'' Caulastraea echinulata'' (M. Edwards & Haime, 1849) *'' Caulastraea furcata'' Dana, 1846 *'' Caulastraea tumida'' Matthai, 1928 Gallery File:Candy cane coral (Caulastrea echinulata) (5).jpg, At Birdworld, England File:Caulastraea 1.jpg, A colony in captivity File:Caulastraea, luz actínica.jpg, Feeder tentacles extended References External links * * Merulinidae Scleractinia gener ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bikiniastrea
''Dipsastraea'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region. They are zooxanthellate corals. Species The following species are currently recognized by the World Register of Marine Species : *'' Dipsastraea albida'' (Veron, 2000) *'' Dipsastraea amicorum'' (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849) *'' Dipsastraea camranensis'' (Latypov, 2013) *'' Dipsastraea danai'' (Milne Edwards, 1857) *'' Dipsastraea faviaformis'' (Veron, 2000) *'' Dipsastraea favus'' (Forskål, 1775) *'' Dipsastraea helianthoides'' (Wells, 1954) *'' Dipsastraea lacuna'' (Veron, Turak & DeVantier, 2000) *'' Dipsastraea laddi'' (Wells, 1954) *''Dipsastraea laxa ''Dipsastraea'' is a genus (biology), genus of Scleractinia, stony corals in the family (biology), family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region. They are zooxanthellate corals. Species The following species ...'' (Klunzinger, 1879) *'' Dipsast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Favia
''Favia'' is a genus of reef-building stony corals in the family Mussidae. Members of the genus are massive or thickly encrusting colonial corals, either dome-shaped or flat, and a few are foliaceous. There is a great diversity of form even among individuals of the same species. The corallites project slightly above the surface of the coral and each has its own wall. In most species, the corallites are plocoid and in some, monocentric. The septa and costae linked to the corallite wall are well developed and covered by fine teeth. The polyps only extend and feed during the night. Each one has a small number of tapering tentacles which often have a darker coloured tip; these are called stinger tentacles, or sweeper tentacles. They use these to sweep the water to see if any other coral is in its area; if so, then they begin to sting the other coral. This is commonly known as coral war. Each coral is trying to make sure it has enough room around it so it can continue to grow and ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
