Agariciidae is a family of reef building stony corals. This family includes cactus corals, elephant skin corals, plate corals and lettuce corals. Members of the family include symbiotic algae called Zooxanthellae in their tissues which help provide their energy requirements.^[2]

Description

Members of this family are colonial, hermatypic (reef-building) corals. The corals form massive structures, often of a laminar or foliate form. The corallites are linked by the closely packed septae which have smooth or finely toothed margins and do not fuse together. The corallites do not stand out from the surface of the coral and have ill-defined walls formed by a thickening of the septae.

Genera

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

• Agaricia Lamarck, 1801 - Most species form thin vertical plates but in some, the plates are horizontal.
• Coeloseris Vaughan, 1918 - Monotypic, the single species being Coeloseris mayeri, the tombstone coral.
• Gardineroseris Scheer & Pillai, 1974 - Monotypic, the single species being Gardinoseris planulata, Gardiner's coral.
• Helioseris - Monotypic, the single species being Helioseris cucullata, the sunray lettuce coral.
• Leptoseris Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1849 - Species are either crustose or laminar in form. They frequently have striations.
• Pachyseris Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1849 - Elephant skin corals, forming irregular, folded colonies which often resemble bracket fungi.
• Pavona Lamarck, 1801 - Displays various forms, some being massive and others frond-like.

See also

• Pavona duerdeni

References