Montipora
| Montipora | |
|---|---|
| |
| Montipora aequituberculata | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Anthozoa |
| Order: | Scleractinia |
| Family: | Acroporidae |
| Genus: | Montipora Blainville, 1830[1][2] |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Montipora is a genus of Scleractinian corals in the phylum Cnidaria. There are 85 known species.[2]
Montipora corals are common on reefs and lagoons of the Red Sea, the western Indian Ocean and the southern Pacific Ocean. They are entirely absent in the Atlantic Ocean.
This coral grows in plates. It can cover huge portions of a reef. The coral is attached permanently to the ocean floor. It spreads out into thin, wide, leaf-like colonies. Larger colonies can grow out in multiple layers. Its surface is covered with many bumpy protrusions.
Diet
[change | change source]It gets most of its nutritional needs from the symbiotic dinoflagellates that live inside its cells.