Family Fungiidae: (L. fungus, mushroom).... describing the mushroom-like appearance of most specimens. Some are polystomatous (colonial), most others are monostomatous (solitary - replacing "solitary" with monostomatous and "colonial" with polystomatous could avoid overlapping characterization in some species, Hoeksema 1989). Members are usually free-living, but some are attached even in their adult stages. However, all free-living fungiids must go through an attached stalked juvenile stage (i.e. anthocaulus). Septo-costae radiate from the mouth on the upper surface as septa and from the center of the under-surface as costae (for morphological diversity see table).

The mushroom corals are one of the most conspicuous groups of extant Indo-Pacific reef sleractinians. All Atlantic representatives are azooxanthellate species, thus not included in this list. Along with the staghorn acropoids, they are perhaps one of the best recognized by the public, owing to their popularity in the tropical curio trade. This family consists of 13 genera (10 of which are free-living i.e. Cycloseris, Diaseris, Heliofungia, Fungia, Ctenactis, Herpolitha, Polyphyllia, Sandalolitha, Halomitra, and Zoopilus). Species among the genera Cantharellus, Lithophyllon, and Podabacia differ slightly from the remaining members of this family as they are firmly attached to the substrate.
Polystomatal genera may be derived from solitary genera as each colonial genus has septo-costal structures corresponding to those of a solitary genus. Heliofungia actiniformis with a single central mouth is clearly a solitary free-living fungiid, while Halomitra pileus with its numerous distinct mouths all over its body (polystomatal) is a colonial free-living species. There is also a tendency in some, seemingly, solitary species to develop additional mouths (e.g. Fungia moluccensis). The polystomatous condition is a result of either intrastomatous, circumstomatous or peripheral budding, or by a combination of all.
According to Veron (1986), one of the oldest common names given to any coral belongs to Halomitra pileus (Gk. halos, -sea; mitra, -cap), which is a free-living poly-stomataous (colony with numerous mouths) fungiid with a relatively wide distribution around PNG. H. pileus has a pronounced dome- or bell-shaped corallum that can reach 63cm in diameter; however, the sizes of the colony most often encountered on the reef range between 20-30cm in diameter.

Some smaller members of the family Fungiidae (115kB)

Until relatively recently, very little was known about the life history and ecology of this fascinating group of mostly free-living corals. The family Fungiidae was recently revised by Hoeksema (1989) into 11 genera and 40 species, and the genus Fungia was subdivided into seven subgenera.
Among the most noticeable features of the fungiids is their immense polyp size. Indeed, the polyps of fungiids are among the largest known, with Heliofungia measuring over 50cm in diameter (Veron 1986). The large and long tentacles of Heliofungia, with their characteristic white bulbous tips, are always expanded during the day, and therefore, it is not surprising that the coral is very often mistaken for a sea anemone by many visitors to the reefs.
Not much is known about the nutritional requirements of Fungiidae; however, their large anemone-like tentacles seem to be efficient for prey capture (i.e. feeding on fish larvae). In addition to being autotrophs and carnivores, fungiids may also be scavengers. With their ability for lateral locomotion (Veron 1986, Hoeksema, 1989) scavenging feeding behavior may allow fungiids to tap a large nutrient pool.
Wide reef flats as well as the shallow reef slopes of fringing reefs support large populations of fungiids (e.g. Fungia, Heliofungia, Ctenactis, and Cycloseris).
One unique feature of most fungiids, especially Cycloseris, is that they are able to extract themselves when buried by sediment, which is a feature that makes them one of the dominant groups in shallow-water lagoons, where sedimentation may be high. Cycloseris has been observed to right themselves after being overturned as well as to climb over various obstacles (Veron 1986).

Cycloseris (Gk. kyklos, circle; seris, lettuce):