''Acanthastrea'' is a genus of large polyp
stony corals in the family
Lobophylliidae.
The
colonies are massive and usually flat. The
corallite
A corallite is the skeletal cup, formed by an individual stony coral polyp, in which the polyp sits and into which it can retract. The cup is composed of aragonite, a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, and is secreted by the polyp. Corallit ...
s are either circular or angular in shape. The
septa are thick near the wall of the corallite, becoming thin near the
columella, and have tall teeth. The
polyps are extended only at night.
[
The genus contains the following species:][
* '' Acanthastrea brevis'' Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849
* '' Acanthastrea echinata'' (Dana, 1846)
* '' Acanthastrea hemprichii'' (Ehrenberg, 1834)
* '' Acanthastrea minuta'' Moll & Best, 1984
* '' Acanthastrea pachysepta'' (Chevalier, 1975)
* '' Acanthastrea polygonalis''† Martin, 1880
* '' Acanthastrea rotundoflora'' Chevalier, 1975
* '' Acanthastrea subechinata'' Veron, 2002
]
References
Lobophylliidae
Scleractinia genera
{{Scleractinia-stub