Siderastreidae

Siderastreidae
Massive Starlet Corals (Siderastrea siderea)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Subclass: Hexacorallia
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Siderastreidae [1]
Vaughan & Wells, 1943
Genera
See text

Siderastreidae is a family of reef building stony corals. Members of the family include symbiotic algae called Zooxanthellae in their tissues which help provide their energy requirements.

Description

Members of this family are colonial, hermatypic (reef-building) corals. The corals vary in form and include massive, thickly encrusting, columnar, and irregular forms. The corallites are linked by flowing septa that have granular margins and that are fused in the centre to give fan-shaped or star-shaped groupings. The corallites do not project from the surface of the coral and have ill-defined walls formed from thickened septa.[2][3]

Genera

The World Register of Marine Species includes the following genera in the family:[1][2]

References

  1. 1 2 Vanden Berghe, Edward (2005). "Siderastreidae". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  2. 1 2 Family Siderastreidae WetWebMedia.com. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  3. Coral Hub Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  4. Pseudosiderastrea, WoRMS
  5. Siderastrea, WoRMS
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