''Corynactis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of colonial

anthozoa Anthozoa is one of the three subphyla of Cnidaria, along with Medusozoa and Endocnidozoa. It includes Sessility (motility), sessile marine invertebrates and invertebrates of brackish water, such as sea anemones, Scleractinia, stony corals, soft c ...

ns similar in appearance to

sea anemone Sea anemones ( ) are a group of predation, predatory marine invertebrates constituting the order (biology), order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the ''Anemone'', a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemone ...

s and in body format to

scleractinia Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a mo ...

n stony corals. These animals are

cnidarian Cnidaria ( ) is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic invertebrates found both in fresh water, freshwater and marine environments (predominantly the latter), including jellyfish, hydroid (zoology), hydroids, ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Corallimorphidae. Large unidentified polyps of this genus feed on the crown-of-thorns seastar ''

Acanthaster planci The crown-of-thorns starfish (frequently abbreviated to COTS), ''Acanthaster planci'', is a large starfish that preys upon hard, or stony, coral polyps (Scleractinia). The crown-of-thorns starfish receives its name from venomous thornlike spines ...

'' and may help control the crown-of-thorns population.

Species

Species so far described in this genus include: *'' Corynactis annulata'' Verrill, 1867 *''

Corynactis australis ''Corynactis'' is a genus of colonial anthozoans similar in appearance to sea anemones and in body format to scleractinian stony corals. These animals are cnidarians in the family (biology), family Corallimorphidae. Large unidentified polyps of ...

'' Haddon & Duerden, 1896 *'' Corynactis caboverdensis'' den Hartog, Ocaña & Brito, 1993 *''

Corynactis californica ''Corynactis californica'' is a brightly colored colonial anthozoan Corallimorpharia, corallimorph. Unlike the Atlantic true sea anemone, ''Actinia fragacea'', that bears the same common name, strawberry anemone, this species is a member of the o ...

'' Carlgren, 1936 *''

Corynactis caribbeorum ''Corynactis'' is a genus of colonial anthozoans similar in appearance to sea anemones and in body format to scleractinian stony corals. These animals are cnidarians in the family Corallimorphidae. Large unidentified polyps of this genus feed ...

'' den Hartog, 1980 *''

Corynactis carnea ''Corynactis'' is a genus of colonial anthozoans similar in appearance to sea anemones and in body format to scleractinian stony corals. These animals are cnidarians in the family Corallimorphidae. Large unidentified polyps of this genus feed ...

'' Studer, 1879 *''

Corynactis chilensis ''Corynactis'' is a genus of colonial anthozoans similar in appearance to sea anemones and in body format to scleractinian stony corals. These animals are cnidarians in the family Corallimorphidae. Large unidentified polyps of this genus feed ...

'' Carlgren, 1941 *''

Corynactis delawarei ''Corynactis'' is a genus of colonial anthozoans similar in appearance to sea anemones and in body format to scleractinian stony corals. These animals are cnidarians in the family Corallimorphidae. Large unidentified polyps of this genus feed ...

'' Widersten, 1976 *''

Corynactis denhartogi ''Corynactis'' is a genus of colonial anthozoans similar in appearance to sea anemones and in body format to scleractinian stony corals. These animals are cnidarians in the family Corallimorphidae. Large unidentified polyps of this genus feed ...

'' Ocaña, 2003 *''

Corynactis denticulosa ''Corynactis'' is a genus of colonial anthozoans similar in appearance to sea anemones and in body format to scleractinian stony corals. These animals are cnidarians in the family Corallimorphidae. Large unidentified polyps of this genus feed ...

'' Le Sueur, 1817 *''

Corynactis globulifera ''Corynactis'' is a genus of colonial anthozoans similar in appearance to sea anemones and in body format to scleractinian stony corals. These animals are cnidarians in the family Corallimorphidae. Large unidentified polyps of this genus feed ...

'' Hemprich & Ehrenberg in Ehrenberg, 1834 *''

Corynactis parvula ''Corynactis'' is a genus of colonial anthozoans similar in appearance to sea anemones and in body format to scleractinian stony corals. These animals are cnidarians in the family (biology), family Corallimorphidae. Large unidentified polyps of ...

'' Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860 *''

Corynactis sanmatiensis ''Corynactis'' is a genus of colonial anthozoans similar in appearance to sea anemones and in body format to scleractinian stony corals. These animals are cnidarians in the family Corallimorphidae. Large unidentified polyps of this genus feed ...

'' (Zamponi, 1976) *''

Corynactis viridis ''Corynactis viridis'', the jewel anemone, is a brightly coloured anthozoan similar in body form to a sea anemone or a scleractinian coral polyp, but in the order Corallimorpharia. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediter ...

'' Allman, 1846

Feeding

''Corynactis'', like other corals in the phylum

Corallimorpharia Corallimorpharia is an order of marine cnidarians closely related to stony or reef building corals ( Scleractinia). They occur in both temperate and tropical climates, although they are mostly tropical. Temperate forms tend to be very robust, wi ...

, depend highly on their production of

zooxanthella Zooxanthellae (; zooxanthella) is a colloquial term for single-celled photosynthetic organisms that are able to live in symbiosis with diverse marine invertebrates including corals, jellyfish, demosponges, and nudibranchs. Most known zooxanthell ...

e and numerous animals which find themselves trapped by the oral disk as benthic invertebrates, crustaceans, worms, echinoderms and even fishes. They are very aggressive eaters, which allows for them to feed on larger particles in the water column.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2998197 Corallimorphidae Hexacorallia genera