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.

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

Description

edit

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

edit

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

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Hoeksema, B. W.; Cairns, S. (2018). "Siderastreidae". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
  2. ^ a b Family Siderastreidae WetWebMedia.com. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  3. ^ Coral Hub Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  4. ^ Pseudosiderastrea, WoRMS
  5. ^ Siderastrea, WoRMS