SEAMEO BIOTROP - Southeast Asian Regional Centre For Tropical Biology

This map was archived on 25 Apr 2009

Coral Reefs - Family

Family Name	:	Acroporidae
Originator	:	Verril, 1902
Characters	:	Colonial, hermatypic, mostly extant,. Colonies have all growth forms known for hermatypic corals. Corallites (except Astreopora) are small with septa in to cycles or less, collumellae are poorly developed
Earliest Fossils	:	Cretaceous
Related Family	:	Pocilloporidae and Astrocoenii
The Genera	:	The Acropridae is composed of four extant hermatypic genera, Montipora, Anacropora, Acropora and Astreopora, all of which occur around Australia.

Family Name	:	Agariciidae
Originator	:	Gray, 1847
Characters	:	Colonial (except for some fossil genera), hermatypic. Colonies are massive, laminar or foliaceous. Corallites are immersed with poorly defined walls formed by thickening of the speto-costae. Septa seldom fuse and are continuous between adjacent corallite centres. They have smooth or finely serrated margins and are closely packed.
Earliest Fossils	:	Cretaceous
Related Family	:	Siderasstreidae
The Genera	:	The Agariciidae includes six extant hermatypic genera: Pavona, Leptoseris, Gardineroseris, Coeloseris, and Pachyseris, which are Australian, as well as Agaracia from the West Indies. The distinction between Pavona and Leptoseris may be uncertain with some species, the reminder are well defined.

Family Name	:	Caryophylliidae
Originator	:	Gray, 1847
Characters	:	This large family usually devided into six subfamilies, only one of which is hermatypic. The latter have phaceloid, meandroid or flabello-meandroid colonies with large, unperforated and widely spaced septa with little or no ornamentations. Corallites walls are similar structure. The ahermatypic subfamilies are solitary or form phaceloid or dendroid colonies, usually with large-lobed septa and paliform lobes. All Caryophyllidae have a membraneous ephiteca.
Earliest Fossils	:	Jurassic
Related Family	:	Flabellidae
The Genera	:	Hermatypes: of the eight extant genera five are Australian and include Euphyllia, Catalaphyllia, Plerogyra, Physogyra and Montigyra. Of the remainder, Nemenzophyllia is from the Philippines, Gyrosmi.lia is restricted to the western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, and Eusmilia occurs in the West Indies. Ahermatypes: 23 genera have been recorded from eastern and southern Australia. Most occur in deep water where little or no light penetrates, but some occur in reefal areas, usually in caves or under rocks. Except for Heterocyathus, they are all poorly known and seldom encountered. Heterocyathus is partly hermatypic and is structurally equivalent to Heteropsammia.

Family Name	:	Dendrophylliidae
Originator	:	Gray, 1847
Characters	:	Solitary or colonial, mostly ahermatypic. Corallite walls are porous, usually composed of coenosteum. Septa are fused in a distinctive pattern (Pourtales Plan), at least in immature corallites
Earliest Fossils	:	Cretaceous
Related Family	:	None
The Genera	:	Hermatypes: the family contains only theree hermatypic genera which are all Australian. Superficially they are completely different; Turbinaria forms large colonies with a primarly laminar growth form, and is very common and widespread with many species; duncanopsammia froms dendroid colonies, and is rare with one species; Heteropsammia is small, free-living and usually solitary. Ahermatypes: seven genera have been recorded from Australia. These are mostly from deep water but include the three most prominent ahermatypic genera from reef waters, Dendrophyllia, Tubastrea, and Balanophyllia.

Family Name	:	Mussidae
Originator	:	Ortmann, 1890
Characters	:	All genera are hermatypic, solitary or colonial extant or fossil. Skeletal structure are solid. Corallites and valleys are large. Septa have large teeth or lobes. Columella and walls are thick and well developed
Earliest Fossils	:	? Eocene
Related Family	:	Pectiniidae
The Genera	:	All Indo-Pacific genera (Blastomussa, Cynarina, Scolymia, Australomussa, Acanthastrea, Lobophyllia and Symphyllia) occur in Australia. All are restricted to the Indo-Pacific except Scolymia which also occurs in the west Indies and Brazil. There are five more mussid genera resticted to the Atlantic; Mussa, Osophyllia, Isophyllastrea and Mycetophyllia from West Indies and Mussismillia from Brazil.

Family Name	:	Oculinidae
Originator	:	Gray, 1847
Characters	:	Colonial, hermatypic and ahermatypic, extant and fossil. Corallites are thickened and linked by smooth coenosteum. Septa are very exsert.
Earliest Fossils	:	Creatceous
Related Family	:	Rhizangiidae
The Genera	:	The Oculinidae are ahermatypic except fro two Australian genera Galaxea and Archelia, which are readily distinguished by their different growth forms-the former being massive, encrusting, columnar or irregular; the latter being arborescent or bushy

Family Name	:	Pectiniidae
Originator	:	Vaughan & Wells, 1943
Characters	:	There is one solitary fossil genus, the remainder are colonial and hermatypic. Colonies are basically laminar, composed of thin plates. Corallite walls are absent or formed by the non-porous costate soenosteum of the laminae
Earliest Fossils	:	Oligocene
Related Family	:	Mussidae
The Genera	:	The Pectiniidae is a small distinct family with only five extant genera, all hermatypic, comprised of Physophyllia and the four Australian genera, Echinophyllia, Oxypora, Mycedium, and Pectinia

Family Name	:	Pocilloporidae
Originator	:	Gray, 1842
Characters	:	Colonial and mostly hermatypic. Colonies are submassive, ramose or arborescent. Corallites are immersed to conical, small, have well-developed columellae and nearly arranged septa of two cycles or less, some usually fused with the columella. The coenosteum is covered with spinules
Earliest Fossils	:	Cretaceous
Related Family	:	Astrocoeniidae and Acroporidae
The Genera	:	Pocillopora, Seritopora, Stylophora, Palaustrea, and Madracis