Stylasteridae Explained

Stylasteridae, also known as lace corals, is a family of colonial hydrozoans with a calcified skeleton.^[1] They first appeared 65 million years ago in deep waters. About 10% of the species have adapted to shallow water.^[2] In shallow reefs they can grow up to 25 cm tall × 30 cm wide,^[3] but some species in deeper waters can reach 1 meter.^[4]

Genera

According to the World Register of Marine Species, the following genera belong to this family:

• Adelopora Cairns, 1982
• Astya Stechow, 1921d
• Axoporella †
• Calyptopora Boschma, 1968
• Cheiloporidion Cairns, 1983
• Congregopora Nielsen, 1919 †
• Conopora Moseley, 1879
• Crypthelia Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849
• Cyclohelia Cairns, 1991
• Distichopora Lamarck, 1816
• Errina Gray, 1835
• Errinopora Fisher, 1938
• Errinopsis Broch, 1951
• Gyropora Boschma, 1960
• Inferiolabiata Broch, 1951
• Lepidopora Pourtalès, 1871
• Lepidotheca Cairns, 1983
• Leptohelia Lindner, Cairns & Zibrowius, 2014^[5]
• Paraerrina Broch, 1942
• Phalangopora Kirkpatrick, 1887
• Pliobothrus Pourtalès, 1868
• Pseudocrypthelia Cairns, 1983
• Sporadopora Moseley, 1879
• Stellapora Cairns, 1983
• Stenohelia Kent, 1870
• Stephanohelia Cairns, 1991
• Stylantheca Fischer, 1931
• Stylaster Gray, 1831
• Systemapora Cairns, 1991

Notes and References

1. https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/4/241 The First Deep-Sea Stylasterid (Hydrozoa, Stylasteridae) of the Red Sea - MDPI
2. News: Stokstad . Erik . 16 February 2008 . Invasion of the Lace Corals . Science.
3. Gnecco . Mariana . Nunes . Flávia L. D. . González-Zapata . Fanny L. . Dueñas . Luisa F. . Zilberberg . Carla . Lindner . Alberto . Sánchez . Juan A. . 2023 . Remarkable population structure in the tropical Atlantic lace corals Stylaster roseus(Pallas, 1766) and Stylaster blatteus(Boschma, 1961) . Coral Reefs . en . 42 . 1 . 181–194 . 10.1007/s00338-022-02329-5 . free .
4. 3142106 . 2011 . Cairns . S. D. . Global Diversity of the Stylasteridae (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Athecatae) . PLOS ONE . 6 . 7 . e21670 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0021670 . free . 21799741 . 2011PLoSO...621670C .
5. Lindner, Cairns & Zibrowius . 2014 . Leptohelia flexibilis gen. nov. et sp. nov., a remarkable deep-sea stylasterid (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Stylasteridae) from the southwest Pacific . . 3900 . 4 . 581–591 . 10.11646/zootaxa.3900.4.8. 25543758 .