Biology:Open brain coral
| Open brain coral | |
|---|---|
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| Green open brain coral | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Hexacorallia |
| Order: | Scleractinia |
| Family: | Merulinidae |
| Genus: | Trachyphyllia Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849 |
| Species: | T. geoffroyi
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| Binomial name | |
| Trachyphyllia geoffroyi Audouin, 1826[2]
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| Synonyms | |
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List (Genus)
(Species)
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The open brain coral (Trachyphyllia geoffroyi) is a brightly colored free-living coral species in the family Merulinidae. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Trachyphyllia and can be found throughout the Indo-Pacific.
Description
Open brain corals can be solitary or colonial.[3] They are small corals, rarely reaching over 20 cm in diameter.[1] They are free-living and exhibit a flabello-meandroid growth form, meaning they have distinct valley regions separated by walls.[4][5] In colonial forms, the valley regions can contain multiple individual polyps.[5] Complexity of valley regions can range; some are hourglass shaped while other cans be highly lobed.[3] They typically have bilateral symmetry.[4] During the day when the polyp is closed, the coral is covered by a mantle that extends beyond the skeleton, but can retract when disturbed.[4][5] Polyps and mantle are very fleshy.[4] Colonies can be blue, green, yellow, brown, and are often vibrantly colored.[4][5]
The open brain coral is known to host a species of gall crab, Lithoscaptus semperi.[6]
Distribution and habitat
Open brain corals can be found throughout the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to New Caledonia. They are found up to a maximum depth of 40 meters.[1]
Open brain corals are less common directly in coral reef communities, and are more often found on sandy reef slopes, around continental islands, and lagoons.[3][5][1] Open brain corals can often be found near other free-living corals.[1][7] Large colonies of open brain corals are uncommon, and are typically only observed in marine protected areas.[1]
Threats
The IUCN lists open brain corals as "near threatened" due to habitat loss and over-harvesting for the aquarium trade.[1] The biggest exporter of open brain coral is Indonesia. In 2005, Indonesia exported over 60,000 open brain corals for use in the aquarium trade.[1]
Other threats to open brain corals include disease, acidification, and severe storms.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Sheppard, C.; Turak, E.; Wood, E. (2008). "Trachyphyllia geoffroyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T133260A3659374. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T133260A3659374.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/133260/3659374. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ↑ "Trachyphyllia geoffroyi". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. 2011. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=207495.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Best, M.B.; Hoeksema, B.W. (1987). "New observations on scleractinian corals from Indonesia: 1. Free-living species belonging to the Faviina.". Zoologische Mededelingen 61 (27): 1–11.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Trachyphyllia geoffroyi (Audouin, 1826)" (in en). http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=207495#notes.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Corals of the World". http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/species_factsheets/species_factsheet_summary/trachyphyllia-geoffroyi/.
- ↑ van der Meij, Sancia E.T. (2015-04-27). "A new gall crab species (Brachyura, Cryptochiridae) associated with the free-living coral Trachyphyllia geoffroyi (Scleractinia, Merulinidae)" (in en). ZooKeys (500): 61–72. doi:10.3897/zookeys.500.9244. ISSN 1313-2970. PMID 25987871. PMC 4432240. Bibcode: 2015ZooK..500...61V. https://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=5170.
- ↑ Veron, J.E.N. (1986). Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. London: Angus & Robertson Publishers. pp. 538.
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