''Goniastrea retiformis'' is a

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), ...

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 ...

. It is native to shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region.

Description

This species forms massive colonies, domed, flat or columnar, reaching a maximum diameter of and a height of . It has small deep calices, usually with a diameter of .

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 recessed, four to six sided. The basic color of these corals is cream or pale brown, but it may also be brown, pink or green.WoRMS
/ref>AIMS Coral Fact Sheets
/ref>

Distribution and habitat

This quite common species can be found in the Indo-West Pacific, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Australian coast. It occurs on reef slopes, especially in shallow waters.

Biology

''Goniastrea retiformis'' is a zooxanthellate species of coral. It obtains most of its nutritional needs from the

symbiotic Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biolo ...

dinoflagellate The Dinoflagellates (), also called Dinophytes, are a monophyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes constituting the phylum Dinoflagellata and are usually considered protists. Dinoflagellates are mostly marine plankton, but they are also commo ...

s that live inside its soft tissues. These

photosynthetic Photosynthesis ( ) is a Biological system, system of biological processes by which Photoautotrophism, photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical ener ...

organisms provide the coral with organic carbon and nitrogen, sometimes providing up to 90% of their host's energy needs for metabolism and growth. Its remaining needs are met by the

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

ic organisms caught by the tentacles of the polyps.

Status

This coral is a common species with a wide range and large total population size which makes it more resilient than some coral species. The main threats faced by corals are related to the mechanical destruction of their coral reef habitats and

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

; these include increasing damage from extreme weather events, rising sea water temperatures and

ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's ocean. Between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05. Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the primary cause of ...

. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has assessed the conservation status of this species as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

". All corals receive protection by being listed on

CITES Appendix II CITES (shorter acronym for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of inte ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3944998 Merulinidae Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Corals described in 1816 Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck