''Goniastrea'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of
stony corals in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Merulinidae
Merulinidae is a family of reef-building 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, without paliform lobes. The vall ...
. Species belonging to the genus ''Goniastrea'' forms massive colonies, usually spherical or elongate, with well developed paliform lobes. Polyps can be seen only at night.
Species
The following
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
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 list of names of marine organisms.
Content
The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific speciali ...
:
* ''
Goniastrea columella''
Crossland, 1948
* ''
Goniastrea edwardsi''
Chevalier, 1971
* ''
Goniastrea favulus''
(Dana, 1846)
* ''
Goniastrea minuta''
Veron, 2002
* ''
Goniastrea pectinata''
(Ehrenberg, 1834)
* ''
Goniastrea ramosa''
Veron, 2002
* ''
Goniastrea retiformis''
(Lamarck, 1816)
* ''
Goniastrea stelligera''
(Dana, 1846)
* ''
Goniastrea thecata''
Veron, DeVantier & Turak, 2002Biolib
/ref>
References
Merulinidae
Scleractinia genera
{{scleractinia-stub