Trachyphyllia
| Open brain coral | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Green open brain coral | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Anthozoa |
| Order: | Scleractinia |
| Family: | Trachyphylliidae |
| Genus: | Trachyphyllia |
| Species: | T. geoffroyi |
| Binomial name | |
|
Trachyphyllia geoffroyi Audouin, 1826 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Trachyphyllia radiata |
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Trachyphyllia radiata
The open brain corals, Trachyphyllia geoffroyi, are just one of thousands of classifications of coral. They are named as such due to their resemblance to an inverted animal brain as seen by the human eye. As the name also suggests, the open brain corals are related to the many other species of brain corals found in shallow warm-water coral reefs in all the world's oceans. The different specific sub-species come in an array of colors ranging from opaque, blue, green, red, pink and brown.
Open brain corals are found in the warm, shallow waters of the tropics. Due to the symbiotic relationship corals have with zooxanthellae (for more information, see "symbiotic relationship" section), corals and therefore coral reefs, thrive in clear, shallow waters to allow the zooxanthellae to photosynthesize. However, this general rule does not apply to all species and there are some exceptions.
Although specific species of open brain corals can be found in all of the world's oceans, they are predominantly found in the Indian Ocean including the Red Sea, and throughout the coastal waters of Australia. The sediment types that the open brain corals thrive on are sandy to silty bottoms.
Open brain corals, like most other corals, are composed of colonies of genetically identical, anemone-like polyps. These polyps secrete calcium carbonate to create an exoskeleton that protects the body of the polyp. When the individual exoskeletons fuse together to construct a colony, they create a skeleton base for the coral as a whole. If all of the polyps in the colony should die, the calcium skeleton of the coral will be left behind. These calcium skeletons are commercially sold as souvenirs around the world.
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Wikipedia