Isophyllia

Isophyllia is a genus of stony coral in the subfamily Mussinae of the family Mussidae.

Isophyllia
Isophyllia sinuosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Cnidaria
Subphylum:	Anthozoa
Class:	Hexacorallia
Order:	Scleractinia
Family:	Mussidae
Genus:	Isophyllia Milne Edwards & Haime, 1851 [1]
Species
See text
Synonyms
Isophyllastraea Isophyllastrea Matthai, 1928 Mussa (Isophyllia) Milne Edwards & Haime, 1851

Characteristics

Isophyllia is a colonial coral. Budding is always intracalicular, occurring inside the oral disc of the polyp, within the whorl of tentacles. The corallites are meandroid, that is, they are linked in a short series of up to five centres. The individual corallites are medium-sized, being 2.5 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) in diameter and up to 6 mm (0.2 in) high. There are three or more cycles of septa in each corallite, all equal in size. A narrow costate coenosteum separates the corallites.^[2]

Species

The World Register of Marine Species lists the following species :^[1]

• Isophyllia rigida (Dana, 1848)
• Isophyllia sinuosa (Ellis & Solander, 1786)