Lobophylliidae is a

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 ...

of large polyp

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 ...

s. The family was created in 2009 after a revision of the "robust" families of

Faviidae 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

Pectiniidae Pectiniidae was a Family (biology), family of Scleractinia, stony corals, commonly known as chalice corals, but the name is no longer considered valid. Taxonomy The "robust" stony coral families of Faviidae, Merulinidae, Mussidae and Pectiniidae ...

, which had been shown to be

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

. The family Lobophylliidae was formed out of the Indo-Pacific species that had traditionally been included in Mussidae, and some of the species which had previously formed Pectiniidae, the remaining species from Pectiniidae having been merged into Merulinidae. The

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

is ''

Lobophyllia ''Lobophyllia'', commonly called lobed brain coral or lobo coral, is a genus of large polyp stony corals. Members of this genus are sometimes found in reef aquariums. Species This genus includes the following species: * '' Lobophyllia agaricia ...

''.

Taxonomy

The "robust" stony coral families of

and

, have traditionally been recognised on morphological grounds but recent

molecular analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

has shown that these families are

, the similarities between the species having occurred through

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last comm ...

. Additionally, some traditional genera such as ''

Favia ''Favia'' is a genus of reef-building stony corals in the family Mussidae. Members of the genus are massive or thickly encrusting colonial corals, either dome-shaped or flat, and a few are foliaceous. There is a great diversity of form even am ...

'' and '' Scolymia'' have been found to be polyphyletic, with the Atlantic faviids and scolymids being more closely related to each other than they are to their Indo-Pacific relatives. A revised classification, proposed in 2012, places the Pacific species of Mussidae in a new family, Lobophylliidae and retains the taxon Mussidae for the Atlantic species. In the revision, the genera '' Echinomorpha'', '' Echinophyllia'' and ''

Oxypora ''Oxypora'' is a genus of large polyp stony corals. Members of this genus are colonial corals and are generally foliaceous. They usually have very thin leaves. Majority are native to the Indo-Pacific and are sometimes found in reef aquariums. G ...

'' were transferred to Lobophylliidae from Pectiniidae and the genus '' Moseleya'' from elsewhere.

Genera

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 ...

includes the following genera in the family: *''

Acanthastrea ''Acanthastrea'' is a genus of large polyp stony corals in the family Lobophylliidae. The colonies are massive and usually flat. The corallites are either circular or angular in shape. The septa are thick near the wall of the corallite, becoming ...

'' Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848 *'' Australophyllia'' Benzoni & Arrigoni, 2016 *''

Cynarina ''Cynarina'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Lobophylliidae. 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 ...

'' Brüggemann, 1877 *'' Echinomorpha'' Veron, 2000 *'' Echinophyllia'' Klunzinger, 1879 *''

Homophyllia ''Homophyllia'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Lobophylliidae Lobophylliidae is a Family (biology), family of large polyp Scleractinia, stony corals. The family was created in 2009 after a revision of the "robust" families of Faviida ...

'' Brüggemann, 1877 *''

'' de Blainville, 1830 *''

Micromussa ''Micromussa'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Lobophylliidae Lobophylliidae is a Family (biology), family of large polyp Scleractinia, stony corals. The family was created in 2009 after a revision of the "robust" families of Faviidae ...

'' Veron, 2000 *'' Moseleya'' Quelch, 1884 *''

'' Saville-Kent, 1871 *'' Sclerophyllia'' Klunzinger, 1879

References

Cnidarian families Scleractinia {{scleractinia-stub