''Leptoria'' 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 ...

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 polyp (zoology), polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral di ...

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 ...

. Members of this genus are known as brain corals or closed brain corals. They are native to the Indo-Pacific region and their ranges extend from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean as far as Japan and the South Central Pacific Ocean.

Characteristics

Colonies are massive and 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 (in meandering valleys on the surface of the coral). The

septa The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates transit bus, bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people ...

are neatly arranged like rungs on a ladder.

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 ...

: * '' Leptoria irregularis'' Veron, 1990 * ''

Leptoria phrygia ''Leptoria'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. Members of this genus are known as brain corals or closed brain corals. They are native to the Indo-Pacific region and their ranges extend from the Red Sea through the Indian Oce ...

'' (Ellis & Solander, 1786)

References

Merulinidae Scleractinia genera {{scleractinia-stub