Dendrophylliidae

Star coral ( Astroides calycularis )

The Dendrophylliidae ( Gr. dendron = tree, phyllon = leaf ) are a family of stony corals ( Scleractinia ). They live in all oceans from shallow waters to depths of over 2000 meters. There are 166 living species today. Furthermore, 199 fossil species are known. The coral family, there are over 120 million years since the Cretaceous.

Most types of Dendrophylliidae are therefore ahermatypisch, that is they do not live in symbiosis with zooxanthellae and can biotopes away from sunlight in caves, colonize under supernatants or on the deep sea floor.

They include the star coral ( Astroides calycularis ) from the Mediterranean Sea and the Coral Tree ( Dendrophyllia Ramea ) from the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, as well as the tropical Tubastraea live at greater depths and feed on plankton.

The genera Turbinaria, Duncanopsammia as well as some types of Heteropsammia other hand, live in symbiosis with zooxanthellae from their metabolic products they feed partially, and are therefore dependent on bright places in the shallow, tropical coral reefs.

Genera

• Quoy & Gaimard Astroides, 1827
• Balanophyllia Wood, 1844
• Bathypsammia Marenzeller, 1906
• Cladopsammia Lacaze - Duthiers, 1897
• Dendrophyllia Blainville, 1830
• Dichopsammia Song, 1994
• Duncanopsammia Wells, 1936
• Eguchipsammia Cairns, 1994
• Enallopsammia Michelotti in Sismonda, 1871
• Endopachys Lonsdale, 1845
• Endopsammia Milne -Edwards & Haime, 1848
• Heteropsammia Milne -Edwards & Haime, 1848
• Leptopsammia Milne -Edwards & Haime, 1848
• Notophyllia Dennant, 1899
• Psammoseris Milne -Edwards & Haime, 1851
• Rhizopsammia Verrill, 1870
• Thecopsammia De Pourtàles, 1868
• Trochopsammia De Pourtàles, 1878
• Tubastraea Lesson, 1829
• Turbinaria Oken, 1815