Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a mouth is fringed with tentacles. Although some species are solitary, most are colonial. The founding polyp settles and starts to secrete calcium carbonate to protect its soft body. Solitary corals can be as much as 25 cm (10 in) across but in colonial species the polyps are usually only a few millimetres in diameter. These polyps reproduce asexually by budding, but remain attached to each other, forming a multi-polyp colony of clones with a common skeleton, which may be up to several metres in diameter or height according to species.
Euphyllia divisa, commonly known as frogspawn coral and sometimes misspelled Euphyllia divisia, is a large-polyped stony coral native to the Indo-Pacific islands. It is a commonly kept species in the marine aquarium hobby. The related coral Fimbriaphyllia paradivisa is frequently misidentified as frogspawn leading to some confusion. Fimbriaphyllia divisa has a corallite skeleton with a flabello-meandroid "wall" structure whereas Fimbriaphyllia paradivisa has a tree-like branching structure with separate corallites.
The open brain coral is a brightly colored free-living coral species in the family Merulinidae. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Trachyphyllia and can be found throughout the Indo-Pacific.
Astreopora is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized.
Euphyllia is a genus of large-polyped stony coral. Several species are commonly found in marine aquariums. The genus includes the following species:
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.
Ctenella is a monotypic genus of stony coral in the family Euphylliidae. It is represented by a single species, Ctenella chagius. These corals are massive in size with meandering valleys between the calyces which have solid, non-porous walls and fine, evenly spaced, solid septae. They are found in the Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea. It forms solid, smooth hemispherical domes and is found in the Indian Ocean in the vicinity of the Chagos Archipelago.
Micromussa lordhowensis, previously known as the Acan Lord, is a species of stony coral in the family Lobophylliidae. It is a widespread and common coral with large polyps occurring on shallow reefs in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. It was originally classified under the genus Acanthastrea, and reclassified under the genus Micromussa in 2016.
Euphyllia ancora is a species of hard coral in the family Euphylliidae. It is known by several common names, including anchor coral and hammer coral, or less frequently as sausage coral, ridge coral, or bubble honeycomb coral.
Catalaphyllia is a monotypic genus of stony coral in the family Euphylliidae from the western Pacific Ocean. It is represented by a single species, Catalaphyllia jardinei, commonly known as elegance coral. It was first described by William Saville-Kent in 1893 as Pectinia jardinei.
Favites pentagona is a species of stony coral in the family Merulinidae, sometimes known as larger star coral. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region and its range extends from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean to the Western Pacific Ocean. This is a common species throughout its wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Favites complanata is a species of stony coral in the family Merulinidae, sometimes known as the larger star coral. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region and its range extends from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean to the western and central Pacific Ocean. This is an uncommon species of coral and seems to be decreasing in abundance, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being "near threatened".
Platygyra lamellina, the hard brain coral, is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It occurs on reefs in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "near threatened".
Blastomussa merleti, commonly known as pineapple coral, is a species of large polyp stony coral. It is unclear in which family the genus Blastomussa belongs. This coral is native to the west and central Indo-Pacific region and is sometimes used in reef aquaria.
Euphyllia paradivisa, or branching frogspawn coral, is a species of large-polyped stony coral belonging to the Euphylliidae family. It shares the common name of "frogspawn coral" with Euphyllia divisa, but is differentiated as the "branching" frogspawn whereas Euphyllia divisa has a "wall" structure. It is a commonly kept species in the marine aquarium hobby.
Euphyllia glabrescens is a species of large-polyped stony coral belonging to the family Euphylliidae. Its common name is the torch coral due to its long sweeper tentacles tipped with potent cnidocytes. It is a commonly kept species in the marine aquarium hobby, particularly specimens from Indonesia and Fiji, who fulfilled annual export quotas of 28,000 and 6,000 pieces, respectively, in 2005.
Euphylliidae are known as a family of polyped stony corals under the order Scleractinia.
Oxypora glabra is a species of large polyp stony coral in the family Lobophylliidae. It is a colonial coral with thin encrusting laminae. It is native to the central Indo-Pacific.
Horastrea is a monotypic genus of stony coral in the family Coscinaraeidae. It is represented by the single species Horastrea indica, the blister coral. It is native to the southwestern Indian Ocean where it is found in shallow water sandy reefs. It was first described by M Pichon in 1971. It is an uncommon coral and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed it as being a "vulnerable species".
Cladopsammia manuelensis, more commonly known as Sun coral or Cup coral, is an azooxanthellate, "true" coral species, and stony coral species. Cladopsammia manuelensis is present in marine environments only and is home to the deep and shallow waters of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
