Orbicella faveolata Coral a.JPG
By Dpaul7
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Orbicella faveolata Coral
East Naples, Florida
Pliocene Age (5.333-2.58 million years ago)
Montastraea is a genus of stony corals in the Montastraeidae family. This genus used to contain many species that are now reclassified into different genera, most notably Orbicella. This was classified as Montastraea faveolata (Ellis & Solander, 1786) - now classified as Orbicella faveolata. Orbicella faveolata, commonly known as mountainous star coral, is a colonial stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It is native to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and is listed as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Colonies of this coral are solid and very large, forming a mound with a skirt. The surface is smooth and undulating, with small lumps, bulges or lobes. The corallites, the stony cups in which the polyps sit, are about 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter and cover the entire surface of the coral. The colour is usually pale brown but may be deep brown with fluorescent green highlights. This coral is part of a species complex including the closely related Orbicella annularis and Orbicella franksi, but the former has more distinct nodules or small columns and the latter has a more irregular, lumpy surface.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Subclass: Hexacorallia
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Merulinidae
Genus: Orbicella
Species: faveolata
Photo Information
- Taken with Canon Canon PowerShot SX120 IS
- Focal Length 7.3 mm
- Exposure Time 1/60
- f Aperture f/3.2
- ISO Speed 400
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