endemic species from Brazilian waters; and (c) it is predominantly composed of massive corals.
Six of the reef-building Brazilian corals are endemic
and some of these species are related to recent Caribbean
coral forms while others are related to a Tertiary coral
fauna. The archaic species are the most common corals
in most modern Brazilian reefs and include the three
species of the genus Mussismilia: M. braziliensis,
M. hispida, and M. hartti, as well as the species Favia
leptophylla (Figure 2a–d). The other two endemic species
are Siderastrea stellata and Favia gravida (Figure 2e
and f ), which are both related to the present Caribbean
coral fauna. M. braziliensis, M. hispida, and Siderastrea
stellata are found among the massive main frame builders.
Brazil, Coral Reefs, Figure 2 Endemic Brazilian coral species. (a) Mussismilia braziliensis; (b) Mussismilia harttii; (c) Mussismilia hispida;
(d) Favia leptophylla; (e) Favia gravida; (f) Siderastrea stellata; (g) Millepora braziliensis; and (h) Millepora nitida.
170
BRAZIL, CORAL REEFS