| Schizocyathus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| D = calyx from above E = lateral view | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Anthozoa |
| Order: | Scleractinia |
| Family: | Schizocyathidae |
| Genus: | Schizocyathus Pourtalès, 1874 [1] |
| Species: | S. fissilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Schizocyathus fissilis Pourtalès, 1874 [2] | |
Schizocyathus is a monotypic genus of stony corals in the family Schizocyathidae, the only species being Schizocyathus fissilis. It is a deep water, azooxanthellate coral.
Schizocyathus fissilis is a solitary species of stony coral. The single corallite can grow to a height of 25 millimetres (1 in) and a diameter of 3.5 millimetres (0.1 in). It is often horn-shaped. The septa are arranged in groups of six in three cycles. There are sometimes palliform lobes on the inner margins of the septa but the columella is weakly developed. [3]
Schizocyathus fissilis is found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Its range includes the coast of Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda, Antilles and Brazil, and in the eastern Atlantic, the Azores, Portugal and Morocco. Its depth range is 88 to 3,438 metres (300 to 11,300 ft). [4]
Schizocyathus fissilis is an azooxanthellate coral which does not harbour symbiotic zooxanthellae in its tissues. [2] It feeds by extending its tentacles to catch plankton and by absorbing organic matter from the water.
Sexual reproduction takes place with the liberation of sperm and eggs into the water column. The planula larvae drift with the currents, and when fully developed, settle on the seabed and undergo metamorphosis into polyps which secrete their own calcium carbonate skeletons. Additionally, Schizocyathus fissilis has an unusual method of asexual reproduction known as parricidal budding. This is a process in which a new polyp develops on the inner surface of a fragment of a parent corallite that has split apart longitudinally. [5]
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.
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.
Oculina is a genus of colonial stony coral in the family Oculinidae. These corals are mostly found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Bermuda but some species occur in the eastern Pacific Ocean. They occur at depths down to 1000 metres.
Favia is a genus of reef-building stony corals in the family Mussidae. Members of the genus are massive or thickly encrusting colonial corals, either dome-shaped or flat, and a few are foliaceous. There is a great diversity of form even among individuals of the same species. The corallites project slightly above the surface of the coral and each has its own wall. In most species, the corallites are plocoid and in some, monocentric. The septa and costae linked to the corallite wall are well developed and covered by fine teeth. The polyps only extend and feed during the night. Each one has a small number of tapering tentacles which often have a darker coloured tip; these are called stinger tentacles, or sweeper tentacles. They use these to sweep the water to see if any other coral is in its area; if so, then they begin to sting the other coral. This is commonly known as coral war. Each coral is trying to make sure it has enough room around it so it can continue to grow and have more surface area for its offspring. The columella is parietal and spongy, and there are vesicles on both the endotheca and exotheca. Members of this genus are widespread in both the Atlantic Ocean and the Indo-Pacific.
Fungia is a genus of corals in the family Fungiidae. It is monotypic with the single species Fungia fungites, which is found growing on reefs in the Indo-Pacific.
Porites lobata, known by the common name lobe coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Poritidae. It is found growing on coral reefs in tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Astrangia is a genus of stony corals in the family Rhizangiidae. Members of this genus are non-reef building corals and are found in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans. They are solitary corals with large polyps and are found in clumps. They reproduce from stolons. The corallites are small with simple toothed septa.
Astrangia solitaria, the dwarf cup coral or southern cup coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Rhizangiidae. It is native to shallow water in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
Turbinaria is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Dendrophylliidae. Common names for this genus include disc coral, scroll coral, cup coral, vase coral, pagoda coral and ruffled ridge coral. These corals are native to the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Japan and the south Central Pacific Ocean.
Dactylotrochus is a genus of large polyp stony corals from the Red Sea and western Pacific Ocean. It is monotypic with a single species, Dactylotrochus cervicornis. It inhabits the deep sea and is believed to be azooxanthellate.
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.
Schizocyathidae is a family of stony corals. There are currently three genera included in this family and each of them is monotypic. Members of the family are azooxanthellate, deep water species.
Colangia is a genus of small corals in the family Caryophylliidae.
Coenosmilia is a genus of small corals in the family Caryophylliidae.
Polycyathus muellerae is a small species of coral in the family Caryophylliidae in the order Scleractinia, the stony corals. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It is a large polyp, colonial coral and grows under overhangs and in caves as part of an assemblage of organisms suited to these poorly-lit sites.
Flabellum angulare is a species of deep sea coral belonging to the family Flabellidae. It is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean at depths of between 2,000 and 3,186 m.
Isophyllia is a genus of stony coral in the subfamily Mussinae of the family Mussidae.
Mussismilia is a genus of stony corals in the subfamily Faviinae of the family Mussidae. This genus is restricted to the Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of Brazil.
Heterocyathus aequicostatus is a small species of coral in the family Caryophylliidae in the order Scleractinia, the stony corals. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region. It is a large polyp, solitary, free-living coral and is usually found on soft substrates.
Cycloseris distorta is a species of disc coral in the family Fungiidae. It is a free-living, solitary coral and is native to the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific region where it is found on soft sediment in shallow water.