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 | |
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.
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]