Merulinidae 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 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 valleys are superficial or may be indistinct because of fan-like spreading or contortions in the ridges. Faviidae and Trachyphylliidae are the most closely related families.

Genera

The World Register of Marine Species includes these

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

in the family: *'' Astrea'' Lamarck, 1801 *'' Australogyra'' Veron & Pichon, 1982 *'' Boninastrea'' Yabe & Sugiyama, 1935 *'' Caulastraea'' Dana, 1846 *'' Coelastrea'' Verrill, 1866 *'' Cyphastrea'' Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848 *'' Dipsastraea'' Blainville, 1830 *'' Echinopora'' Lamarck, 1816 *'' Erythrastrea'' Pichon, Scheer & Pillai, 1983 *'' Favites'' Link, 1807 *''

Goniastrea ''Goniastrea'' is a genus (biology), genus of Scleractinia, stony corals in the family (biology), family Merulinidae. Species belonging to the genus ''Goniastrea'' forms massive colonies, usually spherical or elongate, with well developed palifor ...

'' Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848 *'' Hydnophora'' Fischer von Waldheim, 1807 *'' Hydnophyllia'' † Reis, 1889 *'' Isastraea''† Milne Edwards & Haime, 1851 *'' Leptoria'' Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848 *'' Merulina'' Ehrenberg, 1834 *'' Mycedium'' Milne Edwards & Haime, 1851 *''

Orbicella ''Orbicella'' is a genus of stony corals in the Merulinidae family. The ''Orbicella'' species complex comprises three sister species, namely '' Orbicella faveolata'', '' Orbicella annularis'' and '' Orbicella franksi'', all of which are shallow ...

'' Dana, 1846 *'' Oulophyllia'' Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848 *'' Paragoniastrea'' Huang, Benzoni & Budd, 2014 *'' Paraleptoria''† Budd & Bosellini, 2016 *'' Paramontastraea'' Huang & Budd, 2014 *'' Pectinia'' Blainville, 1825 *'' Physophyllia'' Duncan, 1884 *'' Platygyra'' Ehrenberg, 1834 *'' Scapophyllia'' Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848 *'' Trachyphyllia'' Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849

References

Scleractinia Cnidarian families Taxa named by Addison Emery Verrill {{scleractinia-stub