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The taxonomy of Scleractinia is particularly challenging. Many species were described before the advent of scuba diving, with little realisation by the authors that coral species could have varying morphologies in different habitats. Collectors were mostly limited to observing corals on reef flats, and were unable to observe the changes in ...
Oxypora glabra is a species of scleractinia coral, otherwise known as stony or hard coral, and part of the family Lobophylliidae, which is characteristic of robust coral colonies. [3] Corals are extremely plastic organisms in that their structures rely on their environment, making construction widely variable.
Pocilloporids are colonial and most species are reef-building. They are very variable in size and shape, some being submassive and others arborescent or ramose. The corallites are small and vary from being sunken to being raised cones.
Pavona clavus is a cream, yellow, brown, or pale grey coral typically forming columnar or club-shaped colonies, though it may also form flattened plates. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] The columns are generally smooth and uniform in size, typically measuring up to 20 cm (7.9 in) tall and 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) in diameter. [ 3 ]
The skeleton of a stony coral in the order Scleractinia is secreted by the epidermis of the lower part of the polyp; this forms a corallite, a cup-shaped hollow made of calcium carbonate, in which the polyp sits. In colonial corals, following growth of the polyp by budding, new corallites are formed, with the surface of the skeleton being ...
Scolymia, commonly called scoly coral, is a genus of large-polyp stony corals (Scleractinia). These animals are believed date back to the Miocene with three extant species present in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Galaxea astreata is a common and cosmopolitan large polyp scleractinian coral, (stony, hard coral) in the family Euphylliidae.It has a sub-massive morphology.It is found in the Indo-Pacific [2] and is the most abundant coral species in Xuwen Coral Reef National Nature Reserve.
The class includes important coral reef builders such as the stony corals, sea anemones, and zoanthids. The recognized orders are shown below: [4] Actiniaria – sea anemones; Antipatharia – black corals; Corallimorpharia – corallimorpharians aka "false corals" †Rugosa – rugose corals; Scleractinia – stony corals †Tabulata ...