Pagoda Coral 296

Turbinaria is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Dendrophylliidae. Common names for this genus include disc coral, scroll coral, cup coral, vase coral, pagoda coral and ruffled ridge coral. These corals are native to the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Japan and the south Central Pacific Ocean.  Members of this genus may be massive, laminar, columnar or foliaceous, but foliaceous is the most common form. They may form plates, discs or tiered structures, usually with the corallites (skeletal cups in which the polyps sit) only on one surface. The corallites have porous walls and may be sunk into the surrounding coenosteum (skeletal tissue), or form tubular raised mounds. The septa (vertical blades in the corallites) are short and arranged neatly and the columella (central point where the septa join) is broad. The coenosteum is dense and heavy. Most species of pagoda coral 296 are nocturnal, with the polyps expanding only at night, but Turbinaria peltata  or pagoda coral 296 is an exception to this. Members of this genus are hermatypic (reef-building) corals. They are zooxanthellate, meaning that they contain symbiotic photosynthetic protists in their tissues, and are found in shallow waters where sunshine penetrates. They are one of only three genera in the family Dendrophylliidae with this capability, the other genera being azooxanthellate (without zooxanthellae) and found in deeper waters.  Dendrophylliidae is a family of stony corals. Most (but not all) members are azooxanthellate and thus have to capture food with their tentacles instead of relying on photosynthesis to produce their food. The World Register of Marine Species includes these genera in the family. Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a mouth is fringed with tentacles.