The Caribbean Coral Reef by William K. Sacco;

The Caribbean Coral Reef by William K. Sacco;

Author:William K. Sacco;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CRC Press (Unlimited)
Published: 2023-02-14T00:00:00+00:00


3.17 Orbicella faveolata can cover a significant area of the reef in some places. The green color and knobby round shape is typical in shallow water. In deeper water on the fore-reef slope, the skirted edge is more prominent, as the colony grows to maximize exposure to light. Fig. 2.20 shows an example of both growth modes in a single large colony.

Orbicella franksi (formerly Montastraea franksi)

3.18 Orbicella franksi is similar in overall appearance to Orbicella faveolata, but the corallites have less pronounced septal ribs and a smoother appearance and the surface has scattered bumps with polyps that are larger and paler than those in the area between them. There are both large and small corallites at the growing edge, contrasted with those of Orbicella faveolata, which are more uniform in size. Orbicella faveolata, O. franksi, and O. annularis were for a time considered variants of a single species, Montastraea annularis (now Orbicella annularis, next page), but they have been separated again according to their original descriptions (and modern supporting information).



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