Dendrophyllidae Family of Stony Corals Family

One Stony Coral of the Dendrophyllidae Family can be found in this wesbsite:

Orange Tubastraea, Tubastraea coccinea. A representative of the Dendrophyllidae Family of Stony Corals.

Phylogeny:  Stony Corals of the Dendrophylliidae Family, like sea anemones, jelly fish, and hydroids, are members of phylum Cnidaria.  They are in the subphylum Anthozoa, the class Hexacorallia, the order Scleractina, and the suborder Refertina. The Dendrophylliidae Family is one ten families in this suborder. The Dendrophylliidae Family contains twenty-four genera and one hundred eighty-six species.

Morphology:  Dendrophyllid Corals have radial symmetry, a hollow digestive cavity, and specialized stinging structures in tentacles surrounding the mouth. They are diverse in shape; the name “dendrophylliid” means “tree-leaf”, and may refer to the branching, tree-shape of some species in this family. Other species in the family have completely different shapes, including cave corals, disk corals, cup corals, and lettuce corals. The morphological characteristics of the Dendrophylliidae Family are not particularly useful in the field. One of these characteristics is the arrangement pattern of septa within the polyp. Another characteristic is a porous thecal wall that allows the tissue lining the walls to continue from the outside to the inside. Neither of these characteristics will be obvious in a living specimen. Two helpful traits for many, but not all species in the family, are fleshy tentacles and large mouths. One trait of dead specimens is a granular skeleton that feels like sandpaper. Dendrophyllid Corals may be small and flattened or have branches that reach a maximum of 60 cm (2 feet 0 inches) in length. Some species can form colonies that are several meters in diameter. Only a few species are reef building.

Habitat and Distribution: Dendrophyllid Corals are found on hard substrates, from the intertidal zone to depths that exceed 2,165 m (7,100 feet). They may be either solitary or colonial. They are found worldwide in tropical waters. Six species from the Dendrophylliidae Family are found in Mexican waters.

Ecosystem Roles: Some Dendrophyllid Corals live in tightly packed colonies with multiple generations built upon the skeletons of previous generations, forming coral reefs. About a dozen species in the Dendrophyllidae Family are zooxanthellate, therefore requiring shallow water with lots of sunlight for photosynthesis. The great majority of the species in the Dendrophylliidae Family are azooxanthellate and live in deeper water or in caves or under overhangs. These corals use their tentacles to gather suspended plankton and organic matter and move it to their mouth. Predators of the Dendrophylliidae Family include crabs, fish, gastropods, sea stars and marine worms.