| Mycetophyllia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mycetophyllia aliciae | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Hexacorallia |
| Order: | Scleractinia |
| Family: | Mussidae |
| Genus: | Mycetophyllia Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848 [1] |
| Species [1] | |
See text | |
Mycetophyllia is a genus of stony corals in the family Mussidae. The genera are native to the Caribbean Sea and sometimes kept in reef aquariums. [2] Like all corals in the Mussidae family, Mycetophyllia are hermatypic, or reef-building corals. They receive nutrients from their symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae, which are single-celled photosynthetic dinoflagellates. They are passive suspension feeders that feed on organic matter suspended in the water column.
These coral colonies have flat disc-like or dome structures with scalloped edges. They also have corallites which cover the surface radially towards the center. Depending on the species, they may have a pattern of valleys and ridges on their surface. They are often brown, green, or grey in color and are identified by their thin plates and irregular ridge pattern. There are five known species within Mycetophyllia each with unique morphological features. Mycetophyllia aliciae is characterized by a thin, scalloped plate. M. aliciae does not have defined valleys and ridges like other species. This species reaches a maximum diameter of 1 meter. Mycetophyllia danaana is the smallest species of the genera with a diameter of 30 centimeters. M. danaana colonies have thick plates with deep narrow ridges. M. ferox has thin plates with distinctive ridges and valleys across the surface. The maximum diameter is 1 meter. M. lamarckiana forms small, round mounds rather than a plate. Valleys stretch across the surface and the species is usually light brown or grey in color. M. reesi has the thinnest plate of the all Mycetophyllia species with no ridges and a smooth surface. [3]
Mycetophyllia is a genus native to the Caribbean sea, southern Gulf of Mexico, southern Florida, and the Bahamas. [4] The geographic range is between the Tropic of Cancer and the equator at latitudes 10-25°N and longitudes 60-80°W. [4] These stony corals occupy benthic rocky substrates and are hermatypic, or reef-building corals. These corals are most abundant at depths of 10–25 meters; however, distribution greatly varies by species. The M. reesi species occupies the greatest depths found in deep-water fore reefs from 20 to 76 meters. [5]
Like many stony corals, these corals are hermaphroditic, with some species possessing both male and female reproductive organs. Sexually mature corals produce gametes through meiosis. They begin their life cycle as polyps, or small, cylindrical marine invertebrates. When environmental conditions are favorable, polyps release sperm into the water column which allows new coral colonies to be fertilized through external fertilization. [6] Coral spawning occurs once a year during a full moon. After fertilization, the egg, called a zygote, drifts through the water and undergoes cell division in mitosis. An embryo develops into a planula larva, a type of microscopic zooplankton. The coral planula moves with tiny cilia that cover the body until it finds a hard substrate suitable for settlement. [7]
Widespread threats are causing coral populations to decline worldwide. Factors such as habitat loss, disease, warming ocean temperatures, and physical destruction are contributing to reduced coral populations worldwide. Localized threats include human development, invasive species, unsustainable fishing practices, and pollution. Stony corals throughout the Caribbean are greatly threatened by habitat loss and susceptible to disease. White band disease has led to coral deaths in this region. [8] Scientists are still unsure on the cause of white band disease, which is identified by peeling tissue and an exposed white skeleton. [9]
The World Register of Marine Species recognizes the following species in the genus Mycetophyllia: [2]
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.
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.
Mussidae is a family of stony coral in the order Scleractinia. Following a taxonomic revision in 2012, the family is now restricted to species found in the Atlantic Ocean, with Pacific species transferred to the new family Lobophylliidae. Many species are referred to as brain coral because their generally spheroid form and grooved surface resembles the convolutions of a brain.
Porites astreoides, commonly known as mustard hill coral or yellow porites, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Poritidae.
Pocillopora is a genus of stony corals in the family Pocilloporidae occurring in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are commonly called cauliflower corals and brush corals.
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.
The Pocilloporidae are a family of stony corals in the order Scleractinia occurring in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
The Agariciidae are a family of reef-building stony corals. This family includes cactus corals, plate corals, and lettuce corals. Members of the family include symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae in their tissues which help provide their energy requirements.
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.
Isastrea is an extinct genus of corals that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Its fossils have been found in Europe, Africa, North America, Asia and South America.
Eusmilia is a genus of stony coral in the family Meandrinidae. It is a monotypic genus represented by the species Eusmilia fastigiata, commonly known as the smooth flower coral. It is found on reefs in the Caribbean Sea.
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.
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 fifty metres. It is characterised by large, domed colonies, which may be up to two metres 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 2 centimetres. The polyps only extend their tentacles at night.
Dichocoenia is a monotypic genus of stony coral in the family Meandrinidae. It is represented by a single species, Dichocoenia stokesii, which is commonly known as pineapple coral, elliptical star coral, or pancake star coral. It is mostly found in the Caribbean Sea and the western Atlantic Ocean. Dichocoenia stokesii has irregular calyces and its form can be either a massive, hemispherical hump or a flat, platform-like structure.
Meandrina meandrites, commonly known as maze coral, is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Meandrinidae. It is found primarily on outer coral reef slopes in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Isophyllia sinuosa, the sinuous cactus coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Mussidae. It is found in shallow water in the tropical western Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea.
Lobophylliidae is a family of large polyp stony corals. The family was created in 2009 after a revision of the "robust" families of Faviidae, Merulinidae, Mussidae and Pectiniidae, which had been shown to be polyphyletic. The family Lobophylliidae was formed out of the Indo-Pacific species that had traditionally been included in Mussidae, and some of the species which had previously formed Pectiniidae, the remaining species from Pectiniidae having been merged into Merulinidae. The type genus is Lobophyllia.
Orbicella faveolata, commonly known as mountainous star coral, is a colonial stony coral in the family Merulinidae. Orbicella faveolata is native to the coral coast of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and is listed as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. O. faveolata was formerly known as Montastraea faveolata.
Euphylliidae are known as a family of polyped stony corals under the order Scleractinia.
Manicina areolata, commonly known as rose coral, is a colonial species of stony coral. It occurs in shallow water in the West Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, sometimes as small solid heads and sometimes as unattached cone-shaped forms.
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