Stylasteridae
Stylasteridae is a family of colonial marine hydrozoans in the class Hydrozoa, commonly known as lace corals or stylasterid corals. They secrete a calcium carbonate skeleton and form intricate, delicate structures that resemble true corals, but they are not part of the Scleractinia. The group is diverse, with many species differing in colony shape and polyp arrangement.
Colonies grow as branching or vase-like forms, composed of small calcareous cups called corallites. Within the
Stylasteridae have a wide global distribution, occurring from shallow coastal waters to deep-sea environments on hard
Reproduction in stylasterids typically involves gonophores produced on the colonial skeleton. Many species have reduced or
Taxonomically, Stylasteridae is anchored by the genus Stylaster, the type genus of the family. The group contains