Open brain coral
species of stony coral
The open brain coral (Trachyphyllia geoffroyi) is a brightly colored free-living coral species in the family Merulinidae. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Trachyphyllia and can be found throughout the Indo-Pacific, and in the fossil record of Florida.
Description
Open brain corals can be solitary or colonial. They are small corals, rarely reaching over 20 cm in diameter. They are free-living and exhibit a flabello-meandroid growth form, meaning they have distinct valley regions separated by walls. In colonial forms, the valley regions can contain multiple individual polyps. Complexity of valley regions can range; some are hourglass shaped while other cans be highly lobed. They typically have bilateral symmetry. During the day when the polyp is closed, the coral is covered by a mantle that extends beyond the skeleton, but can retract when disturbed. Polyps and mantle are very fleshy.
“Open brain coral” enters the record as species of stony coral. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what brain, coral and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Open brain coral” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, brain, coral and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q149920. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Open brain coral”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Open brain coral primary sources, Open brain coral archive and brain research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Open brain coral”?
- Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Open brain coral” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.