Related FAQs: Faviids, Faviids 2, Faviids 3, Faviid Identification, Faviid Behavior, Faviid Compatibility, Faviid Selection, Faviid Systems, Faviid Feeding, Faviid Disease, Faviid Disease 2, Faviid Disease 3, Faviid Disease 4, Faviid Disease 5, & Faviid Reproduction/Propagation, Stony/True Coral, Coral System Set-Up, Coral System Lighting, Stony Coral Identification, Stony Coral Selection, Coral Placement, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition, Disease/Health, Propagation, Growing Reef Corals, Stony Coral Behavior, Related Articles: Large Polyp Stony Corals,  Stony or True Corals, Order Scleractinia, Dyed Corals,  /The Best Livestock For Your Reef Aquarium: "Honeycomb", Brain Corals, More and Less, Family Faviidae, pt. 3 To: Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

By Bob Fenner

Gorgeous orange Faviid in N. Sulawesi

Genus Echinopora Lamarck 1816. As per the name, prickly in appearance (raised corallites, spiny septa). Mostly wavy laminar sheets that appear wavy on their ends. (This genus moved to family Merulinidae in recent years. See there as well)
/WA Corals:  massive, laminar, encrusting or branching • corallites have own walls • septa exsert and dentate • spines on coenosteum • coraliltes are similar to Cyphastrea but larger >10mm

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Echinopora fructiculosa (Ehrenberg 1834). Dome shaped colonies of interlocking branches. Branches are single tubular corallites with lateral budding. Corallites 5-8 mm. Color pinkish brown w/ light colored ends. Red Sea 2019. http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/species_factsheets/species factsheetsummary/echinopora-fruticulosa/

Echinopora lamellosa (Esper 1795). Thin, wavy laminar sheets. Small corallites (3-4mm.). Indo-Central Pacific including the Red Sea. Bunaken, Sulawesi, Indonesia image.

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Genus Favia Oken 1815. One of the most widely distributed (though not that common) genera of stony corals. Most corallites circular, uniform in appearance. Plocoid (corallites that are conical with their own walls). Septa alternating in size, dentate edges. Genus and family named for Greek: "Honeycomb" (favus) which the regular size, arrangement of corallites approaches. Encrusting, columnar or massive colonies.

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Favia albidus Veron 2000. Usually small, rounded colonies. Corallites crowded, monocentric with thickened septa which extend as large teeth over the corallite wall. Red Sea endemic.

Favia fagrum (Esper 1797). Small colonies that may be encrusting or hemispherical. Corallites of variable shape, with one to many mouths. Bahamas and aquarium images.

Favia favus (Forskaal 1775). Massive or flat colonies. Slightly irregular, conical corallites of about 12 mm diameter. N. Sulawesi images.

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Favia laxa (Klunzinger 1879). Hemispherical colonies whose corallites are conical, showing both extra- and intertentacular budding. Paliform lobes look like an internal crown. Fine line of demarcation between costae. Pale to pinkish brown in color. Common in the Red Sea where this picture was made.

Favia matthai Vaughan 1918. Small, massive colonies. Corallites circular, rounded with regular, thick septal teeth. Crown-like paliform lobing between the corallites. Usually brown or grey w/ contrasting walls. Bali 2014

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Favia maxima Veron and Pichon 1977. Small, massive colonies. Corallites with regular, thick septa. Crown-like paliform lobing between the corallites. Cebu, Philippines image.  According to Joe Fish, Dipsastrea sp. Fam. Merulinidae.