Montipora is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of small polyp stony

Scleractinia

Scleractinia, also called stony corals, are exclusively marine animals; they are very similar to sea anemones but generate a hard skeleton. They first appeared in the Middle Triassic and replaced tabulate and rugose corals that went extinct at the end of the Permian...

 coral

Coral

Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...

 in the phylum

Phylum

In biology, a phylum The term was coined by Georges Cuvier from Greek φῦλον phylon, "race, stock," related to φυλή phyle, "tribe, clan." is a taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. "Phylum" is equivalent to the botanical term division....

 Cnidaria

Cnidaria

Cnidaria is a phylum containing over 9,000 species of animals found exclusively in aquatic and mostly marine environments. Their distinguishing feature is cnidocytes, specialized cells that they use mainly for capturing prey. Their bodies consist of mesoglea, a non-living jelly-like substance,...

. Depending on the species and location, Montipora may grow as plates or ridges, appearing to some as a bowl or flower. Undisturbed, the plates expand radially and may encrust over surrounding rocks, shells or debris. These corals are extremely common on reefs in the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

, the western Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 and the southern Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. There are seventy five known species.

Description

Members in this genus are usually thin corals that form leafy, plate-like, encrusting or semi-massive colonies. The colours vary greatly. The calices are less than 2 mm in diameter and are usually well separated by the coenosteum. The skeleton is lacy, the walls are indistinct and the septa, when present are small and in 2 cycles. The columella is rarely developed and the corallites are inconspicuous and appear empty as the polyps are very small.

Biology

Like other corals, Montipora corals are colonies of individuals, known as polyps, which are about 2 mm across and share tissue and a nerve net. The polyps can withdraw into the coral in response to movement or disturbance by possible predators, but slightly protrude when undisturbed. The polyps usually extend further at night to capture zooplankton from the water. These corals have zooxanthella

Zooxanthella

Zooxanthellae are flagellate protozoa that are golden-brown intracellular endosymbionts of various marine animals and protozoa, especially anthozoans such as the scleractinian corals and the tropical sea anemone, Aiptasia....

, a symbiotic algae that lives inside the cells of the polyps and produce energy for the animals through photosynthesis

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...

.

Habitat

Montipora genus corals are most common in shallow reef environments with bright sunlight and moderate wave motion. Small reef fishes, such as the hawkfish

Hawkfish

Hawkfish are strictly tropical, perciform marine fish of the family Cirrhitidae. Associated with the coral reefs of the western and eastern Atlantic and Indo-Pacific, the hawkfish family contains 12 genera and 32 species. They share many morphological features with the scorpionfish of the family...

 live near Montipora colonies and perch on the ridges of the coral. Environmental destruction has led to a dwindling of populations of Montipora, along with other coral species. Unlike Acropora

Acropora

Acropora is a genus of scleractinian coral in the Phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral and staghorn coral. There are currently 149 described species...

corals, Montiporas are more stress resistant, and not especially susceptible to coral bleaching

Coral bleaching

Coral bleaching is the loss of intracellular endosymbionts through either expulsion or loss of algal pigmentation.The corals that form the structure of the great reef ecosystems of tropical seas depend upon a symbiotic relationship with unicellular flagellate protozoa, called zooxanthellae, that...

 when stressed.

In aquaria

Most Montipora corals are brown, pink, or green but variants with bright colors or having a ridge color with a high contrast to the core color, such as the rainbow and superman Montipora are more prized by aquarists. Captive propagation of Montipora corals is widespread in the reefkeeping community. Able to endure varied conditions, Montipora corals can be grown by enthusiasts without the use of metal halide lighting

Metal halide lamp

Metal-halide lamps, a member of the high-intensity discharge family of lamps, produce high light output for their size, making them a compact, powerful, and efficient light source. By adding rare earth metal salts to the mercury vapor lamp, improved luminous efficacy and light color is obtained...

. In a well-lit reef aquarium

Reef aquarium

A reef aquarium or reef tank is an marine aquarium that prominently displays live corals and other marine invertebrates as well as fish that play a role in maintaining the coral reef environment...

, finger-sized fragments can grow into basketball-sized colonies in 2 to 3 years.

Species

• Montipora aequituberculata
• Montipora capitata
• Montipora capricornis
• Montipora digitata
  Montipora digitata
  Finger coral, Montipora digitata, is a species of stony coral. It is found in East Africa, the Indo-West Pacific, Kenya, Mozambique and Rodriguez....
  
  
• Montipora dilatata
  Montipora dilatata
  The Hawaiian reef coral, Montipora dilatata, is a species of coral in the family Acroporidae.- Description :Morphology of this species can be quite variable. Colonies may be any combination of encrustations, plates, knobs, and branches. Montipora dilatata is a glabro-favoleate type that is...
  
  
• Montipora flabellata
• Montipora foliosa
• Montipora patula