Faviidae
Faviidae | ||||||||||
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Colpophyllia natans |
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Systematics | ||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||
Faviidae | ||||||||||
Gregory , 1900 |
The Faviidae are a family of hard corals (Scleractinia). It contains most of the genera of all families . They live in all tropical seas, some genera endemic to the Red Sea and the western Indian Ocean or the Caribbean . Like most other hard corals, they live in a symbiotic relationship with small algae ( zooxanthellae ), which provide the coral with nutrients. You are therefore dependent on bright locations.
Appearance
Many species grow in large colonies and reach a diameter of several meters. Because of the massive skeletal structure, their growth is very slow. Large colonies must therefore be hundreds of years old. The pattern of the large polyps is often reminiscent of the coils of a brain. That's why they got the German name brain corals.
Danger
Brain corals can also be cultivated in well-maintained saltwater aquariums . The compact growing species from the family Faviidae cannot, however, be reproduced as easily as the branchy acropores and montipores . They are therefore still heavily collected in the coral reefs . Parts of the coral sticks are knocked out with a chisel and the mother stick is severely damaged. Like other large polyp hard corals, the Faviidae have become rare in many places.
Genera
- Astreosmilia Duncan, 1867
- Australogyra Veron, 1982
- Barabattoai Yabe & Sugiyama, 1941
- Bikiniastrea Wells, 1954
- Caulastraea Dana, 1846
- Colpophyllia Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848
- Cyphastrea Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848
- Diploastrea Matthai, 1914
- Diploria Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848
- Echinopora Lamarck, 1816
- Erythrastrea Pichon, Scheer & Pillai, 1983
- Favia Oken, 1815
- Favites Link, 1807
- Goniastrea Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848
- Leptastrea Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848
- Leptoria Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848
- Manicina Ehrenberg, 1834
- Montastraea de Blainville, 1830
- Moseleya Quelch, 1884
- Oulastrea Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848
- Oulophyllia Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848
- Parasimplastrea Sheppard, 1985
- Platygyra Ehrenberg, 1834
- Plesiastrea Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848
- Solenastrea Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848
Web links
- The Corals of the Genus Faviidae (en.)
- ITIS Faviidae