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Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Classis: Anthozoa
Subclassis: Hexacorallia
Ordines: Actiniaria - Antipatharia - Ceriantharia - Corallimorpharia - †Rugosa - Scleractinia - †Tabulata - Zoantharia
Incertae sedis: Relicanthidae

Name

Hexacorallia
References

Fautin, D.G. 2005 (rev.) Hexacorallians of the World
Rodríguez, E., Barbeitos, M.S., Brugler, M.R., Crowley, L.M., Grajales, A., Gusmão, L., Häussermann, V., Reft, A. & Daly, M. 2014. Hidden among Sea Anemones: The First Comprehensive Phylogenetic Reconstruction of the Order Actiniaria (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Hexacorallia) Reveals a Novel Group of Hexacorals. PLoS ONE 9(5): e96998. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0096998 Reference page.

Vernacular names
Ελληνικά: Εξακοράλλια
español: Hexacorales
日本語: 六放珊瑚亜綱
македонски: Шестозрачни корали
polski: koralowce

Hexacorallia is a class of Anthozoa comprising approximately 4,300 species of aquatic organisms formed of polyps, generally with 6-fold symmetry. It includes all of the stony corals, most of which are colonial and reef-forming, as well as all sea anemones, and zoanthids, arranged within five extant orders.[2] The hexacorallia are distinguished from another class of Anthozoa, Octocorallia, in having six or fewer axes of symmetry in their body structure; the tentacles are simple and unbranched and normally number more than eight.[3] These organisms are formed of individual soft polyps which in some species live in colonies and can secrete a calcite skeleton. As with all Cnidarians, these organisms have a complex life cycle including a motile planktonic phase and a later characteristic sessile phase. Hexacorallia also include the significant extinct order of rugose corals.
Phylogeny

Hexacorallia is considered to be monophyletic, that is all contained species are descended from a common ancestor, however it has been suggested that many of the current orders are not. Historically, Antipatharia was considered to be in a separate class called Ceriantipatharia, though more recent genetic studies place it in Hexacorallia.[2]

The subclass includes important coral reef builders such as the stony corals, sea anemones, and zoanthids. The recognized orders are shown below:[4]

Actiniaria - sea anemones
Antipatharia - black corals
Corallimorpharia - corallimorpharians aka "false corals"
†Rugosa - rugose corals
Scleractinia - stony corals
†Tabulata - tabular corals
Zoantharia - zoanthids

References

Han, Jian; Kubota, Shin; Uchida, Hiro-omi; Stanley Jr., George D.; Yao, Xiaoyong; Shu, Degan; Li, Yong; Yasui, Kinya (October 13, 2010). "Tiny Sea Anemone from the Lower Cambrian of China". PLOS One. 5 (10): e13276. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...513276H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013276. PMC 2954142. PMID 20967244.
Daly, M.; Brugler, M.P.; Cartwright, P.; Collins, A.G.; Dawson, M.N.; Fautin, D.G.; France, S.C.; McFadden, C.S.; Opresko, D.M.; Rogriguez, E.; Romano, S.L.; Stake, J.L. (2007-07-21). "The phylum Cnidaria: A review of phylogenetic patterns and diversity 300 years after Linnaeus". Zootaxa. 1668: 1–766. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1668.1.11. hdl:1808/13641. ISSN 1175-5326.
Light. Sol Felty (2007). The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates from Central California to Oregon. University of California Press. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-520-23939-5.
"WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Hexacorallia". marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2018-04-03.

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