Platygyra lamellina

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Cnidaria · Class: Hexacorallia · Order: Scleractinia · Family: Merulinidae · Genus: Platygyra.

Accepted name: Platygyra lamellina · Authority: (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1834) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 207487.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Coeloria arabica Klunzinger, 1879; Coeloria arabica var. lamellina (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1834); Coeloria arabica var. subdentata (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849); Coeloria arabica var. triangularis Klunzinger, 1879; Coeloria bottae Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849; Coeloria bottai Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849; Coeloria ehrenbergiana Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849; Coeloria forskaelana Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849; Coeloria forskalana Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849; Coeloria forskaliana Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849; Coeloria lamellina (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1834); Coeloria laticollis Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849; Coeloria leptoticha Klunzinger, 1879; Coeloria subdentata Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849; Hydnophora microconos var. lamellina (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1834); Hydnophora microconos var. subdentata (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849); Maeandra (Platygyra) labyrinthica (Pallas, 1766); Maeandra (Platygyra) labyrinthica Ehrenberg, 1834; Maeandra (Platygyra) lamellina Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1834; Maeandra labyrinthica (Pallas, 1766); Maeandra lamellina Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1834; Maeandra laticollis (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849); Maeandra leptoticha (Klunzinger, 1879); Maeandrina arabica (Klunzinger, 1879); Meandra lamellina Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1834.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=207487 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)

Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Platygyra lamellina. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Depth range: 0–47 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated.

Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 46796) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Platygyra-lamellina.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

1,087 georeferenced occurrence records for Platygyra lamellina are published through GBIF from 42 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 186 distinct locations from a sample of 1,087 records, omitting 40 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: Australia (629); Japan (251); Indonesia (26); Mayotte (26); Egypt (19).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 5184732) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=5184732&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=207487 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Platygyra lamellina (Ehrenberg, 1834) as Least Concern (code LC). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 133651) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/133651/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 5184732) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/5184732/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Colonies of P. lamellina usually form massive rounded mounds, sometimes with nodular swellings, but may also form flat plates. The corallites are long, narrow and meandering, with thick walls which are up to one and a half times the thickness of the valleys between them. The septa protrude slightly and are rounded and even; they are very neatly arranged, and cross the valley walls. This coral is usually some shade of brown, with the valley bottoms sometimes being greenish or grey. It can be distinguished from the otherwise similar Platygyra daedalea by the thickness of the corallite walls and the more rounded septa.

P. lamellina has a widespread distribution in the Indo-Pacific region but is generally uncommon. Its range extends from Madagascar, the east coast of Africa and the Red Sea, to Australia, Indonesia, Japan and the East China Sea. It is present as part of the reef community in various habitats, particularly on back reef slopes, but also on fore reefs and in lagoons.

Spawning of P. lamellina, a simultaneous hermaphrodite, occurs at night during the summer on a date determined by the phase of the moon; in the Red Sea, this is the three- to five-day period around the new moon in July and the similar period in August. Clusters of eggs and sperm are released by the corals, and these are buoyant and rise to the surface. Fertilisation takes place here at least twenty minutes later, after the eggs and sperm have dispersed. Neither the eggs nor the planula larvae, which develop about two days later, contains zooxanthellae. The planula larvae settle on the seabed about two months later and undergo metamorphosis into polyps. The slow development of the larvae is believed to be due to the absence of zooxanthellae, and these symbionts are acquired at the primary polyp stage in this species.

Source: Wikipedia: Platygyra lamellina — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platygyra_lamellina (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.