''Isophyllia'' 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 coral 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 subfamily Mussinae of 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 ...

Mussidae Mussidae is a family of stony coral in the order Scleractinia. Following a taxonomic revision in 2012, the family is now restricted to species found in the Atlantic Ocean, with Pacific species transferred to the new family Lobophylliidae. Many ...

Characteristics

''Isophyllia'' is a colonial coral. Budding is always intracalicular, occurring inside the oral disc of the polyp, within the whorl of tentacles. 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 meandroid, that is, they are linked in a short series of up to five centres. The individual corallites are medium-sized, being in diameter and up to high. There are three or more cycles of

septa SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

in each corallite, all equal in size. A narrow costate coenosteum separates the corallites.

Species

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 ...

lists the following species : *'' Isophyllia rigida'' (Dana, 1848) *''

Isophyllia sinuosa ''Isophyllia sinuosa'', the sinuous cactus coral, is a species of Scleractinia, stony coral in the Family (biology), family Mussidae. It is found in shallow water in the tropical western Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea. Description and habitat '' ...

'' (Ellis & Solander, 1786)

References

Mussinae Scleractinia genera {{scleractinia-stub