Fungia

Fungia
Mushroom coral, Fungia sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Cnidaria
Class:	Anthozoa
Order:	Scleractinia
Family:	Fungiidae
Genus:	Fungia Lamarck, 1801 [1]
Species
See text
Synonyms
Herpetoglossa Wells, 1966

Fungia is a genus of mushroom, disc or plate corals in the family Fungiidae. Members of the genus are found growing on reefs in the Indo-Pacific.^[2]

Description

Fungia sp.

Corals in the genus Fungia are mostly solitary, some attaining 30 centimetres (12 in) in diameter. However Fungia simplex is colonial.^[1] The juveniles attach themselves to rock but larger individuals detach themselves and become free living. They are found in various bright colours including white, pink, red, purple, blue and yellow and are popular with keepers of reef aquariums.^[3] The discs are either round or oval and the central mouth, which is surrounded by tentacles, may be a slit. The polyp sits in a calcareous cup, the corallite. The septa are vertical skeletal elements inside the corallite wall and the costae join the septae and continue outside the corallite wall and underneath the coral. In the genus Fungia, both the septae and costae are robust and the spines and teeth found on them are characteristic of the different species. Members of the genus Fungia may be confused with specimens of the related genus Cycloseris but the latter are always free living, even as juveniles, while the former bear a scar showing where they were attached when young.^[2]

Species

The World Register of Marine Species currently lists the following species:^[1]

Fungia actiniformis Quoy & Gaimard, 1833 Fungia acutidens Studer, 1878 Fungia adrianae Van Der Horst, 1921 Fungia colini (Veron, 2002) Fungia concinna Verrill, 1864 Fungia corona Doderlein, 1901 Fungia costulata (Ortmann, 1889) Fungia curvata Hoeksema, 1989 Fungia cyclolites Lam Fungia distorta Michelin, 1842 Fungia echinata (Pallas, 1766) Fungia elegans Verrill, 1870 Fungia fieldi Gardiner Fungia fragilis (Alcock, 1893) Fungia fralinae Nemenzo, 1955 Fungia fungites (Linnaeus, 1758) Fungia granulosa Klunzinger, 1879 Fungia gravis Nemenzo, 1955 Fungia hexagonalis Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848 Fungia horrida Dana, 1846 Fungia klunzingeri Doderlein

Fungia madagascarensis Verrill Fungia moluccensis Horst, 1919 Fungia papillosa Verrill, 1866 Fungia paumotensis Stuchbury, 1833 Fungia puishani Veron & DeVantier, 2002 Fungia repanda (Dana, 1846) Fungia samboangensis Verrill Fungia scabra Döderlein, 1901 Fungia scruposa Klunzinger, 1879 Fungia scutaria Lamarck, 1801 Fungia seychellensis Hoeksema Fungia sibogae Van Der Horst, 1921 Fungia simplex (Gardiner, 1905) Fungia sinensis (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1851) Fungia somervillei Gardiner Fungia spinifer Claereboudt & Hoeksema, 1987 Fungia taiwanensis Hoeksema & Dai, 1991 Fungia tenuis Dana, 1846 Fungia valida Verrill, 1864 Fungia vaughani Boschma, 1923

References

1. Martinez, Olga (2012). "Fungia Lamarck, 1801". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
2. Fungia The Coral Hub. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
3. Fungia coral species Retrieved 2011-12-13.

External links

• ReefCorner - Fungia Coral Database Entry