Specimen image via iDigBio · BY-NC
Scolymia
Sign in to saveScolymia, commonly called scoly coral, is a genus of large-polyp stony corals (Scleractinia). These animals are believed date back to the Miocene with three extant species present in the western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico.
Species
artichoke coral
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumCnidaria
- ClassAnthozoa
- OrderScleractinia
- FamilyFaviidae
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 256
- With media
- 6
- Family
- Faviidae
- Collections
- UF, NHMUK, USNM
- Recorded in
- United States, Indonesia, Japan
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Image
- Atlantic Mushroom Coral (2896282041).jpg
Show 4 more facts
- Commons category
- Scolymia
- taxon name
- Scolymia
- taxon rank
- genus
- topic's main category
- Category:Scolymia
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~4 min read
Encyclopedic overview
13 sectionsContents
- Description
- Ecology
- Energy
- Habitat and geographic distribution
- Predation
- Conservation status
- Behavior
- Interspecific competition
- Reproduction
- Intraspecific fusion
- Taxonomy
- Species
- References
Scolymia, commonly called scoly coral, is a genus of large-polyp stony corals (Scleractinia). These animals are believed date back to the Miocene with three extant species present in the western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico.
== Description == Unlike most other Scleractinia, Scolymia are solitary corals. Polyps can grow up to 10 cm in diameter. Morphology is diverse with both interspecific and intraspecific variation in shape. Polyps may be concave, convex, or flat depending on the species and environmental conditions. Species are generally distinguished based on differences in septa number, thickness, and orientation. Scoly corals range from brown to bright fluorescent greens, reds, and purples.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Scolymia” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.