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Species of coral From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
| Open brain coral | |
|---|---|
| |
| Green open brain coral | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Hexacorallia |
| Order: | Scleractinia |
| Family: | Merulinidae |
| Genus: | Trachyphyllia Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849 |
| Species: | T. geoffroyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Trachyphyllia geoffroyi Audouin, 1826[2] | |
| Synonyms | |
|
List (Genus)
(Species)
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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]
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]
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]
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