Marcelo Visentini Kitahara commented on "Caryophyllia":

Within this family, the exclusively azooxanthellate genus Caryophyllia, is common worldwide and consists of 66 Recent valid species, being the most diverse Recent genus of azooxanthellate corals. All representatives of this genus are solitary, including forms firmly attached to the substrate, such as Caryophyllia berteriana Duchassaing, 1870, and others that detach at an early stage, such as Caryophyllia ambrosia Alcock, 1898, to continue a free life form on soft bottoms (sand or mud). Described by Lamarck (1801), the genus Caryophyllia accommodates the species characterized primarily by having a cylindrical, trochoid, or ceratoid corallum, if attached, or a cornute corallum if free; a circular to compressed calice; a variable septal symmetry, but hexameral symmetry with four cycles of septa being most common (Cairns, 1991); having one crown of pali before penultimate or rarely antipenultimate cycle of septa; and having a fascicular columella.

almost 3 years ago • edited: almost 3 years ago

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