Cnidaria is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic animals found both in fresh water and marine environments, including jellyfish, hydroids, sea anemones, corals and some of the smallest marine parasites. Their distinguishing features are a decentralized 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 thick. Cnidarians are also some of the only animals that can reproduce both sexually and asexually.
Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.
Anthozoa is a class of marine invertebrates which includes the sea anemones, stony corals and soft corals. Adult anthozoans are almost all attached to the seabed, while their larvae can disperse as part of the plankton. The basic unit of the adult is the polyp; this consists of a cylindrical column topped by a disc with a central mouth surrounded by tentacles. Sea anemones are mostly solitary, but the majority of corals are colonial, being formed by the budding of new polyps from an original, founding individual. Colonies are strengthened by calcium carbonate and other materials and take various massive, plate-like, bushy or leafy forms.
Leaf plate montipora, also known as vase coral, cap coral, or plating montipora, is a type of small polyp stony (SPS) coral in the family Acroporidae.
Millepora dichotoma, the net fire coral, is a species of hydrozoan, consisting of a colony of polyps with a calcareous skeleton.
Porites astreoides, commonly known as mustard hill coral or yellow porites, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Poritidae.
Pavona duerdeni, the porkchop coral, is a coral that forms clusters of cream-colored lobes or discs. They grow in large colonies, divided into ridges or hillocks. The coral is considered to be uncommon due to its low confirmed abundance, yet they are more commonly found in Hawaii, the Indo-Pacific, and the Tropical Eastern Pacific. They make up some of the largest colonies of corals, and have a slow growth rate, as indicated by their dense skeletons. Their smooth appearance is due to their small corallites growing on their surface.
Galaxea fascicularis is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Euphylliidae, commonly known as octopus coral, fluorescence grass coral, galaxy coral among various vernacular names.
Millepora alcicornis, or sea ginger, is a species of colonial fire coral with a calcareous skeleton. It is found on shallow water coral reefs in the tropical west Atlantic Ocean. It shows a variety of different morphologies depending on its location. It feeds on plankton and derives part of its energy requirements from microalgae found within its tissues. It is an important member of the reef building community and subject to the same threats as other corals. It can cause painful stings to unwary divers.
Milleporasquarrosa is a species of fire coral that can be found in the Caribbean Sea as well as in the western Atlantic. They are very common on fringing reefs in patches. They have a smooth surface covered in tiny pores from which polyps protrude. They can reach up to 5 centimeters in height and can range from brown or tan in color with slight purple or red tints. It is commonly known as "box fire coral", which refers to its box-like structure and the stinging sensation felt when touched with a bare hand. These corals are important to reef-building.
Millepora platyphylla is a species of fire coral, a type of hydrocoral, in the family Milleporidae. It is also known by the common names blade fire coral and plate fire coral. It forms a calcium carbonate skeleton and has toxic, defensive polyps that sting. It obtains nutrients by consuming plankton and via symbiosis with photosynthetic algae. The species is found from the Red Sea and East Africa to northern Australia and French Polynesia. It plays an important role in reef-building in the Indo-Pacific region. Depending on its environment, it can have a variety of different forms and structures.
Stylophora pistillata, commonly known as hood coral or smooth cauliflower coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region and is commonly used in scientific investigations.
Acropora aspera is a species of staghorn coral in the family Acroporidae. It is found on reef flats and in lagoons in very shallow water in the western Indo-Pacific Ocean.
Pocillopora verrucosa, commonly known as cauliflower coral, rasp coral, or knob-horned coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It is native to tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Alveopora is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Acroporidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region and are often found on reef slopes in turbid water. They are generally uncommon.
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".
Millepora complanata, commonly known as blade fire coral, is a species of fire coral in the family Milleporidae. It is found in shallow waters in the Caribbean Sea where it is a common species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being critically endangered.
Millepora tenera is a species of fire coral in the family Milleporidae. It is native to the Red Sea and the western Indo-Pacific region and is a zooxanthellate species with a calcareous skeleton. It was first described in 1949 by the Dutch zoologist Hilbrand Boschma.
Porites cylindrica, commonly known as hump coral, is a stony coral belonging to the subclass Hexacorallia in the class Anthozoa. Hexacorallia differ from other subclasses in that they have 6 or fewer axes of symmetry. Members of this class possess colonial polyps which can be reef-building, secreting a calcium carbonate skeleton. They are dominant in both inshore reefs and midshelf reefs.
Euphylliidae are known as a family of polyped stony corals under the order Scleractinia.
