Poritidae

Poritidae
Porities sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Subclass: Hexacorallia
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Poritidae [1]
Genera
See text

Poritidae is a family of stony corals. Members of the family are colonial hermatypic (reef-building) corals. They are variable in size and form but most are massive, laminar or ramose as well as branching and encrusting. The corallites are compact with very little coenosteum covering the skeleton. The walls of the corallites and the septa are porous. J.E.N. Veron considers the family is not a natural grouping but is a miscellaneous collection of genera that do not fit well elsewhere.[1][2]

Genera

The World Register of Marine Species includes the following genera in the family:[1][3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 WoRMS (2010). "Poritidae; Gray, 1847". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  2. Veron, J. E. N. (1985). Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
  3. Poritid Corals, Family Poritidae WetWebMedia.com. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.