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| hard corals text index | photo index |
| Phylum Cnidaria > Class Anthozoa > Subclass Zoantharia/Hexacorallia > Order Scleractinia |
| Brain
corals Family Mussidae updated Oct 11 Where seen? These dome-shaped hard corals do somewhat resemble fleshy brains and are often seen on many of our Southern shores. Features: Members of the Family Mussidae develop into large colonies with heavy skeletons. The thick walls of Lobophyllia and Symphyllia form meandering valleys, and when submerged is covered with thick fleshy tissue, thus resulting in their common names. The walls have prominent 'teeth'. Some species of Lobophyllia and Symphyllia look very similar and requires close examination to differentiate. On this website they are grouped by external features for convenience of display. Status and threats: Some members of the Family Mussidae recorded for Singapore are listed as globally threatened by the IUCN. Like other creatures of the intertidal zone, they are affected by human activities such as reclamation and pollution. Trampling by careless visitors, and over-collection also have an impact on local populations. |
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Brain corals on Singapore shores
| Here are some general differences between the two common kinds of brain corals. But some species may resemble one another. To positively identify the species, closer examination of internal parts is required. On this website, they are grouped by external features for convenience of display. |
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Lobed
brain coral
Lobophyllia sp. |
Corallite
walls are separate.
Valleys not as meandering. |
Large
'teeth'
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Grooved
brain coral
Symphyllia sp. |
Corallite
walls are joined.
There is usually a slight groove or dent along the top of the wall. Valleys wide and more meandering |
Small
'teeth'.
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White
grooved brain coral
Symphyllia sp. |
Corallite
walls are joined with a slight groove or dent along the top of the
wall and white tissue. Valleys wide and more meandering
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Small
'teeth'.
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| Family
Mussidae recorded for Singapore from Danwei Huang, Karenne P. P. Tun, L. M Chou and Peter A. Todd. 30 Dec 2009. An inventory of zooxanthellate sclerectinian corals in Singapore including 33 new records **the species found on many shores in Danwei's paper. in red are those listed as threatened on the IUCN global list.
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Links
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Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia. 3 volumes.
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