NMITA:
N eogene
M arine B i ota
of T ropical
A merica
Tool for identifying zooxanthellate coral
genera
Check one state for each of the seven characters; missing
values are not allowed.
Click on character state name for illustrations and definition of that
state.
Use character states marked with * for demonstration purposes
Colony Form: The arrangement of corallites within a colony.
Plocoid
Subplocoid
Cerioid
Meandroid
*
Flabelloid
Phaceloid
Solitary
Colony Shape: The overall shape of a colony.
Mostly
massive or encrusting
Mostly
branching
Mostly
platy (one-side) *
Budding: The position of newly budded corallites relative to the
corallite wall.
Mostly
intramural *
Mostly
extramural
None
Columella: The central axial structure within a corallite.
Trabecular
and continuous
Trabecular
and discontinuous *
Lamellar
Styliform
Absent
Unknown (Wall structure
and lobes must also be coded as unknown)
Corallite Size: The internal diameter of a corallite measured across
the corallite center between inner wall margins.
Small (<1.5 mm)
Medium (1.5-10 mm) *
Large (10-20 mm)
Huge (>20 mm)
Wall Structure: The skeletal structures forming the corallite wall.
Mostly
septothecal
Mostly
parathecal
Synapticulothecal *
None
Unknown (Columella and lobes
must also be coded as unknown)
Lobes: Vertical structures formed near the inner septal margins.
Pali
Paliform
lobes
Septal lobes
No
lobes *
Unknown (Wall structure
and columella must also be coded as unknown)
Click here for character matrix.
Click here for future plans for development of
the ID tool.
Last updated on October 24, 1996-afb.
[ NMITA home
page | Zooxanthellate Corals ]