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Related FAQs: TWA Invertebrates, Fishes of the Tropical West
Atlantic, Tropical West Atlantic 2,
Related Articles: Algae, Vascular Plants, Introduction to Fishwatcher's Guide
Series Pieces/Sections, Lachnolaimus
maxiumus/Hogfish, Hogfishes of the Genus Bodianus,
Invertebrates, Algae and Vascular Plants of The Tropical West Atlantic: Bahamas to Brazil,
Part 8
To: Part 1,
Part 2, Part 3,
Part 4, Part 5,
Part 6, Part 7,
Part 9,
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By Bob Fenner
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Lesser and Greater Starlet Coral |
Family Siderastreidae, Vaughn & Wells 1943.
Though hard to make out exactly with a live specimen and nothing to magnify
the view, this widespread family's members are unified by characteristics of
their individual polyp skeleton (corallite) structure. These are flush with the
surrounding carbonate mass (coenosteum) by thick septo-costae, with the septa
fused in the middle to form a fan or star-like grouping.
Genus Siderastrea de Blainville 1830. Starlet Coral. Perhaps the most
widespread coral genus. Found most everywhere corals are found around the world.
| Siderastrea radians. Lesser
Starlet Coral. Encrusting plates or irregular domes. Colonies 4-12 inches
in diameter. Corallites small (2-3 mm in diameter). Tropical West Atlantic.
Bonaire pix. |
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| Siderastrea siderea (Ellis & Solander 1786).
Massive or Pink
Starlet Coral. Encrusting to massive/boulder-like. 1-6 feet in diameter. Corallites small (3-4.5
mm in diameter). Tropical West Atlantic. Bahamas images. |
 
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Family Agariciidae, Gray 1847. All utilize endosymbiotic algae, all
colonial. Individual coral polyp skeletons have poorly formed walls,
prominent/thickened septo-costae, are immersed in their larger skeletal mass,
randomly oriented, spaced, often resembling rough, wrinkled skin. Six living
genera.
Genus Agaricia Lamarck 1801. Species are mostly thin vertical plates
(sometimes horizontal).
| Agaricia grahamae, Graham's Sheet Coral. Looks like
thin sheets to thick plates, often as piled up shingles on a sloping reef.
Polyps appear star-like in valleys. Septa alternate in size (Lamarck's are
equal in size). Bahamas pix. Second pick, Graham's on left, Lamarck's on
right for comparison. |
 
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| Agaricia lamarcki Milne Edwards & Haime 1851,
Lamarck's Sheet Coral. Colonies are flat one-faced plates arranged in
whorls. Usually brown rust in color with whitish mouths. Belize images. |
 
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| Agaricia tenuifolia Dana 1848. Thin upright colonies,
joined at angles at their base. Corallites in valleys, arranged
concentrically with low ridges. Bahamas images. |
 
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Family Mussidae Ortmann 1890.
Variously called Meat and Brain corals for obvious common characteristics:
large "meaty" polyps, wandering valley-like arrangement of corallites
like the sulci of grey matter. All have distinctive thick columellae and
corallite walls with toothed septa.
Genus Isophyllastrea
| Isophyllastrea rigida, Rough Star Coral, Polygonal
Coral. Tropical West Atlantic. Dome-shaped. Ridge along midline of septa.
One each in Cancun and Cozumel, Mexico. |
 
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Genus Isophyllia Milne Edwards and Haime 1851. Small colonies
(typically under eight inches in diameter), flat to slightly dome-shaped. Thin
septae and columnellae (on dead skeleton appearance). Found only in the tropical
West Atlantic.
| Isophyllia sinuosa (Ellis and Solander 1786).
Distinctive for its range. Meandering valleys. Not common. Bahamas image. |
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Genus Mussa Oken 1815. Monotypic, only found in the tropical West
Atlantic.
| Mussa angulosa (Pallas 1766). Large, fleshy polyps
that are well-separated. When retracted, skeletal elements/septa appear
spiny. To two feet in diameter. Below: Bahamas images of larger, smaller
colonies and a close-up by Di.F in Cozumel. |
Genus Mycetophyllia Milne Edwards and Haime 1848. Flad colonies with
outward radiating valleys. Poorly developed columellae. Septa-costae are outward
facing. Found in the Caribbean only.
| Mycetophyllia aliciae, Knobby Cactus, Thin Fungus
Coral. Usually found as thin convex plates, with distinctive raised
star-shaped polyps. Bordered by ridges that run inward, though less
pronounced, common than others of the genus in the region. Bahamas
pix. |
 
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| Mycetophyllia danaana, Low Ridge Cactus Coral.
Colonies as flat plates, mounds, domes. Ridges about edge turn to the
inside, often crossing center, intertwine (definitive differences from M.
lamarckiana in the same area). Occurs in green, brown, gray. Six to
fifteen inches across. Bahamas pix. |
 
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| Mycetophyllia ferox Wells 1973. Colonies
mainly as rounded plates, covered with sinuous valleys/mazes. Bahamas
images. |
 
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| Mycetophyllia lamarckiana, Ridged Cactus, Large
Cactus, Fungus Coral. Colonies as flat, wavy-edged plates. Ridges fleshy,
don't extend to centers. Wide, shallow valleys, usually fleshy. Color
variable: browns, greens, grays. 6-12 inches in diameter. Bahamas pix. |
 
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Genus Scolymia Haime 1852. Singular, circular polyps. Indistinct walls
beneath their septa-costae. These are difficult species to discern one from
the other. The three occurring in the tropical West Atlantic may be told apart
by the shape of their septal "teeth".
| Scolymia cubensis (Milne Edwards and Haime 1849).
Septa in 2,3 orders as spikes, pick-shapes. Found in the Caribbean and off of Brazil. Bahamas
and Bonaire pix. |
 
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| Scolymia vitiensis Bruggenmann 1877. Septa slope up
from the columellae, costae slope down to the perimeter. Look like
fungiids with a depressed center otherwise. One in Fiji, another in an
aquarium. Below, two in Nuka Hiva, Marquesas, Polynesia. |
 
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| Scolymia lacera, Atlantic Mushroom Coral. Tropical
West Atlantic. To six inches in diameter, most a couple of inches. Have
prominent triangular septal teeth ridges. Cozumel image by Di.F. |
 
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| Scolymia wellsi, Solitary Disk Coral. Radiating,
raised lines on polyp. Occur in greens, grays, browns. Has rough,
irregular cylindrical, thin septal teeth. Bahamas pic. |
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To: Part 1, Part 2,
Part 3, Part 4,
Part 5, Part 6,
Part 7, Part 9,
Part 10, Part 11,
Part 12, Part 13,
Part 14, Part 15,
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