Mussidae
| Mussidae | ||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Mussidae | ||||||||||
| Ortmann , 1890 |
The Mussidae are a family of hard corals (Scleractinia). Most genera have large polyps , the skeletons of which are divided by large septa. They live in the Caribbean and the coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific .
features
The Mussidae are solitary or form colonies. The skeleton is stable, coralites and the valleys between them are very large. The septa have large tooth or leaf-shaped structures. The pillar of limestone in the center of the coralites, called collumella, and the partition walls are well developed and thick. The polyps are large and fleshy. The family is closely related to the Pectiniidae , from which it can be distinguished by the more robust skeleton and the large coralites with large septum teeth. Morphologically it also resembles the Meandrinidae . In some species ( Cynarina lacrimalis , Scolymia australis ) the polyp inflates during the day with water and because of the transparency of the animals, the underlying skeleton becomes visible. This is likely to improve the photosynthesis capabilities of the zooxanthellae living in symbiosis with the corals . At night, the mussids eat zooplankton, Lobophyllia hemprichii is also able to catch larger prey, such as hover shrimp or polystyrene .
Reproduction
All mussids are hermaphroditic, two species emit fully developed planula larvae . Five species, Acanthastrea echinata , Lobophyllia hemprichii , L. corymbosa , Symphyllia recta and S. radians , have been shown to participate in the mass spawning of corals in the Great Barrier Reef .
Genera
- Acanthastrea Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848; Indo-pacific.
- Acanthophyllia Wells, 1937
- Australomussa Veron, 1985; Indo-pacific.
- Blastomussa Wells, 1968; Indo-pacific.
- Cynarina Brueggemann, 1877; Indo-pacific.
- Homophyllia Brueggemann, 1877
- Indophyllia Gerth, 1921; Indo-pacific.
- Isophyllastrea Matthai, 1928
- Isophyllia Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1851; Caribbean.
- Lobophyllia Blainville, 1830; Indo-pacific.
- Micromussa ; Indo-pacific.
- Mussa Oken, 1815; Caribbean.
- Mussismilia Ortmann, 1890; Caribbean.
- Mycetophyllia Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848; Caribbean.
- Scolymia Haime, 1852; Indo-Pacific and Caribbean.
- Symphyllia Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848; Indo-pacific.
There were also numerous other genera that are now extinct.
literature
- Svein A. Fosså / Alf Jacob Nilsen: Coral Reef Aquarium , Volume 4, Birgit Schmettkamp Verlag, Bornheim, ISBN 3-928819-05-4
Web links
- Classification of Scleractinian (Stony) Corals Family Mussidae