''Favites'' 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 ...

stony corals 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 ...

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 ...

Merulinidae Merulinidae is a Family (biology), family of reef-building Scleractinia, stony corals. Characteristics All the genera in this family are colonial, reef-building corals. Skeletal structures are similar to those of Faviidae but are highly fused, w ...

. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region and their ranges extend from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean as far as Japan, the

Line Islands The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands () are a chain of 11 atolls (with partly or fully enclosed lagoons, except Vostok and Jarvis) and coral islands (with a surrounding reef) in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawa ...

and the

Tuamotu Islands The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (, officially ) are a French Polynesian chain of just under 80 islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extending (from northwest to ...

Characteristics

Colonies can be encrusting but are usually massive and dome-shaped. 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 mostly cerioid (sharing a common wall), but some are plocoid (with an individual wall) and the palliform lobes are indistinct, which distinguishes these corals from the otherwise similar ''

Goniastrea ''Goniastrea'' is a genus (biology), genus of Scleractinia, stony corals in the family (biology), family Merulinidae. Species belonging to the genus ''Goniastrea'' forms massive colonies, usually spherical or elongate, with well developed palifor ...

''.

Species

The following

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are currently recognized by the

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

: *''

Favites abdita ''Favites'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region and their ranges extend from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean as far as Japan, the Line ...

'' (Ellis & Solander, 1786) *'' Favites acuticollis'' (Ortmann, 1889) *'' Favites chinensis'' (Verrill, 1866) *''

Favites colemani ''Favites'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region and their ranges extend from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean as far as Japan, the Line Is ...

'' (Veron, 2000) *'' Favites complanata'' (Ehrenberg, 1834) *'' Favites favosa'' (Ellis & Solander, 1786) *'' Favites flexuosa'' (Dana, 1846) *'' Favites halicora'' (Ehrenberg, 1834) *''

Favites magnistellata ''Favites'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region and their ranges extend from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean as far as Japan, the Line Is ...

'' (Chevalier, 1971) *'' Favites melicerum'' (Ehrenberg, 1834) *'' Favites micropentagonus'' Veron, 2000 *''

Favites monticularis ''Favites'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region and their ranges extend from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean as far as Japan, the Line Is ...

'' Mondal, Raghunathan & Venkataraman, 2013 *''

Favites paraflexuosus ''Favites'' is a genus of Scleractinia, stony corals in the family (biology), family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region and their ranges extend from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Oc ...

'' Veron, 2000 *''

Favites pentagona ''Favites pentagona'' is a species of Scleractinia, stony coral in the family (biology), family Merulinidae, sometimes known as larger star coral. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region and its range extends from the Red Sea through the Indian O ...

'' (Esper, 1795) *'' Favites rotundata'' Veron, Pichon & Wijsman-Best, 1977 *''

Favites solidocolumellae ''Favites'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region and their ranges extend from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean as far as Japan, the Line Is ...

'' Latypov, 2006 *''

Favites spinosa ''Favites spinosa'' is a species of stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region, its range extending from the eastern coast of Africa through the Indian Ocean to the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. Descripti ...

'' (Klunzinger, 1879) *''

Favites stylifera ''Favites'' is a genus of Scleractinia, stony corals in the family (biology), family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region and their ranges extend from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Oc ...

'' Yabe & Sugiyama, 1937 *'' Favites valenciennesi'' (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849) *'' Favites vasta'' (Klunzinger, 1879)

Fossil record

Fossils of ''Favites'' are found in marine strata from the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

to the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

(age range: from 161.2 to 0.0 million years ago.). Fossils are known from many localities in Europe, Indonesia, Philippines, Africa, North America, South America, Pakistan, Japan and India. The Paleobiology Database
/ref>

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3948799 Merulinidae Scleractinia genera