title: Merulinidae
text: # Merulinidae
  
  Merulinidae is a family of reef-building stony corals.
  
  ## Characteristics
  
  All the genera in this family are colonial, reef-building corals. Skeletal structures are similar to those of Faviidae but are highly fused, without paliform lobes. The valleys are superficial or may be indistinct because of fan-like spreading or contortions in the ridges. Faviidae and Trachyphylliidae are the most closely related families.
  
  ## Genera
  
  The World Register of Marine Species includes these genera in the family:
  
  * Astrea Lamarck, 1801
  * Australogyra Veron & Pichon, 1982
  * Boninastrea Yabe & Sugiyama, 1935
  * Caulastraea Dana, 1846
  * Coelastrea Verrill, 1866
  * Cyphastrea Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848
  * Dipsastraea Blainville, 1830
  * Echinopora Lamarck, 1816
  * Erythrastrea Pichon, Scheer & Pillai, 1983
  * Favites Link, 1807
  * Goniastrea Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848
  * Hydnophora Fischer von Waldheim, 1807
  * Hydnophyllia † Reis, 1889
  * Isastraea† Milne Edwards & Haime, 1851
  * Leptoria Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848
  * Merulina Ehrenberg, 1834
  * Mycedium Milne Edwards & Haime, 1851
  * Orbicella Dana, 1846
  * Oulophyllia Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848
  * Paragoniastrea Huang, Benzoni & Budd, 2014
  * Paraleptoria† Budd & Bosellini, 2016
  * Paramontastraea Huang & Budd, 2014
  * Pectinia Blainville, 1825
  * Physophyllia Duncan, 1884
  * Platygyra Ehrenberg, 1834
  * Scapophyllia Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848
  * Trachyphyllia Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849
  