Montastraea
| Great star coral | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Subphylum: | Anthozoa |
| Class: | Hexacorallia |
| Order: | Scleractinia |
| Family: | Montastraeidae Yabe & Sugiyama, 1941 |
| Genus: | Montastraea Blainville, 1830 |
| Species: | M. cavernosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Montastraea cavernosa (Linnaeus, 1767) | |
| Synonyms | |
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List (Genus)
(Species)
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Montastraea is a genus of colonial stony coral found in the Caribbean seas. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Montastraeidae and contains a single species, Montastraea cavernosa, known as great star coral. It forms into massive boulders and sometimes develops into plates. Its polyps are the size of a human thumb and fully extend at night.