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Brain coralTemporal range: Middle Triassic–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Favites abdita in the family Merulinidae
Manicina areolata in the family Mussidae (Faviidae)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Cnidaria
Class:	Hexacorallia
Order:	Scleractinia
Groups included
Mussidae Merulinidae

Brain coral is a common name given to various corals in the families Mussidae and Merulinidae, so called due to their generally spheroid shape and grooved surface which resembles a brain. Each head of coral is formed by a colony of genetically identical polyps which secrete a hard skeleton of calcium carbonate; this makes them important coral reef builders like other stony corals in the order Scleractinia. Brain corals are found in shallow warm water coral reefs in all the world's oceans. They are part of the phylum Cnidaria, in a class called Anthozoa or "flower animals". The lifespan of the largest brain corals is 900 years. Colonies can grow as large as 1.8 m (6 ft) or more in height.

Brain corals extend their tentacles to catch food at night. During the day, they use their tentacles for protection by wrapping them over the grooves on their surface. The surface is hard and offers good protection against fish or hurricanes. Branching corals, such as staghorn corals, grow more rapidly, but are more vulnerable to storm damage. Like other genera of corals, brain corals feed on small drifting animals, and also receive nutrients provided by the algae which live within their tissues. The behavior of one of the most common genera, Favia, is semiaggressive; it will sting other corals with its extended sweeper tentacles during the night.

The grooved surface of brain corals has been used by scientists to investigate methods of giving spherical wheels appropriate grip strength.

Genera

• Barabattoia Yabe and Sugiyama, 1941
• Bikiniastrea Wells, 1954
• Caulastraea Dana, 1846 – candy cane coral
• Colpophyllia Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848 – boulder brain coral or large-grooved brain coral
• Cyphastrea Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848
• Diploastrea Matthai, 1914 – diploastrea brain coral or honeycomb coral
• Diploria Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848 – grooved brain coral
• Echinopora Lamarck, 1816
• Erythrastrea Pichon, Scheer and Pillai, 1983
• Favia Oken, 1815
• Favites Link, 1807 – moon, pineapple, brain, closed brain, star, worm, or honeycomb coral
• Goniastrea Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848
• Leptastrea Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848
• Leptoria Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848 – great star coral
• Manicina Ehrenberg, 1834
• Montastraea de Blainville, 1830 – great star coral
• Moseleya Quelch, 1884
• Oulastrea Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848
• Oulophyllia Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848
• Parasimplastrea Sheppard, 1985
• Platygyra Ehrenberg, 1834
• Plesiastrea Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848
• Solenastrea Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848

Gallery

• Brain coral spawning
• Brain coral, Caribbean Sea near Esperanza on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico
• Black band disease on a brain coral in Caribbean Sea near Bahia de la Chiva on the island of Vieques
• Close-up of a brain coral near Nusa Kode Island, Indonesia
• Closeup of Diploria strigosa, Snapper Ledge, Florida Keys
• Diploria clivosa (dead), San Salvador Island, Bahamas
• Fossil Diploria at the Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, of Pleistocene age
• Diploria strigosa, in the near shore waters of Key West, FL
• Close up of Diploria labyrinthiformis with visible polyps, Vieques, Puerto Rico

References

1. "What are Brain Corals?".
2. Aronson, R.; Bruckner, A.; Moore, J.; Precht, B.; E. Weil (2008). "Diploria labyrinthiformis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T133257A3657726. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T133257A3657726.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
3. "Brain Coral Fact File". Archived from the original on 2 April 2009.
4. "Grooved Brain Coral".
5. David Gibson, Can a rubber ball reinvent the wheel?, BBC, 8 March 2016

v t e Corals and coral reefs
Hexacorallia	Black Brain Elegance Hermatypic Chalice Pillar Table Elkhorn Staghorn †Rugose †Tabulate
Octocorallia	Bamboo Blue Organ pipe Sea fans Sea pens
Coral reefs	Atoll Cay Coral Deep-water coral mesophotic coral reef Fringing Microatoll Coral reef fish Census of Coral Reefs The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs Catlin Seaview Survey Spur and groove formation
Coral regions	List of reefs African coral reefs Amazon Reef Andros, Bahamas Apo Reef Baa Atoll Belize Barrier Reef Coral Sea Islands Coral Triangle East African coral coast Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Great Barrier Reef India Jamaica Kiribati Lakshadweep Maldives Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System New Caledonia barrier reef Ningaloo Reef Non-tropical regions Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Pulley Ridge Raja Ampat Islands Red Sea Solomon Archipelago Southeast Asian coral reefs Tuvalu Archipelago Virgin Islands Yabiji
Coral diseases	Coral bleaching Black band disease Skeletal eroding band Stony coral tissue loss disease White band disease White pox disease
Conservation	Environmental issues with coral reefs Coral reef protection Coral reef restoration Reef resilience Organizations Coral Reef Alliance Green Fins International Coral Reef Society Project AWARE Reef Ball Reef Check
Symbiotic algae	Zooxanthellae Amphidinium Symbiodinium
Other	Artificial reef Aquaculture of coral Coral dermatitis Precious coral Coral rag Coral sand Coralline algae Deep-water coral Fire coral

• Scleractinia
• Invertebrate common names
• Polyphyletic groups