Poritidae is a family of Scleractinia. Members of the family are colonial hermatypic (reef-building) corals. They are variable in size and form but most are massive, laminar or ramose as well as branching and encrusting. The are compact with very little coenosteum covering the skeleton. The walls of the corallites and the septa are porous. J.E.N. Veron considers the family is not a natural grouping but is a miscellaneous collection of genera that do not fit well elsewhere.[Veron, J. E. N. (1985). Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.]
Genera
The World Register of Marine Species includes the following genus in the family:[ Poritid Corals, Family Poritidae WetWebMedia.com. Retrieved 2011-12-18.]
-
Bernardpora Kitano & Fukami, 2014
-
Goniopora de Blainville, 1830 - 29 species. The polyps have 24 tentacles.
-
Porites - 77 species.
-
Stylaraea - Monotypic. The only species is Stylaraea punctata.