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 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 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 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 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