Anthozoa - Scleractinia - Merulinidae
Synonyms: Amusiidae Ridewood 1903, Amusiinae Ridewood 1903, Pectiniidae Vaughan and Wells 1943, Trachyphylliidae Verrill 1901
Parent taxon: Scleractinia according to J.E.N. Veron 2000
See also Bouchet et al. 2010, Huang et al. 2014, Masuda 1971, Wells 1956 and Yamani 1983
Sister taxa: Adekoheastrea, Agathiphylliidae, Amphiastraeina, Anisocoenia, Annotocyathus, Anomopora, Antiguastrea, Antillophyllia, Apelismilia, Aplocyathus, Aplosmiliidae, Aquitanastraea, Archaeocoeniina, Archaeofungiina, Archaeolasmogyra, Archaeosmiliidae, Astraeoina, Astrocoeniina, Aulastraeoporidae, Bavarosmilia, Budiopsis, Calameastolia, Carantophyllum, Carcicocaenia, Caryophylliina, Caulastrea, Chorisastraea, Cladocora, Clausastraeopsis, Clonosmilia, Coelomeandra, Comoseriidae, Coscinaraeidae, Cyclastraeidae, Cyclindrocyathus, Cylindrosmilia, Cynaria, Cyphastrea, Decaheliocoenia, Dendrophylliina, Desmocoenia, Dichotomosmilia, Dictuophyllia, Diploastraeidae, Diplogyra, Diplothecangia, Distichophylliina, Ebocotrochus, Eburneotrochus, Echinopora, Eckastraeidae, Edwardsastraea, Edwardsomeandra, Epitrochus, Etalloniopsis, Euphylliidae, Eupsammidae, Eusmiliopsis, Fasciatiphyllia, Fasciseris, Faviina, Favites, Favitopsis, Felixaraeoidea, Fungiina, Fungophyllia, Furcophyllia, Gallitellia, Gardineroseris, Gombertiphyllia, Goniastrea, Haplareidae, Hedeliastraea, Heliostylina, Helladophyllia, Heterocoeniina, Houchangocyathus, Hydnophora, Isastraeidae, Isphyllastrea, Karatchastraea, Kobycoenia, Lamellomeandra, Lepiconus, Leptastreidae, Leptoria, Liptodendron, Lithodendron, Lobophylliidae, Lupitschia, Mareastraea, Meandriina, Merulina, Microsolenina, Miophora, Mioscapophyllia, Misistelloidea, Montastraeidae, Morchellastraea, Mycedium, Ondadiplocteniopsis, Oulastreidae, Oulophyllia, Pachyphylliidae, Pachysmilia, Pachythecaliina, Palaeophyllia, Palaeoseris, Palaeosmilia, Paracoryphyllia, Parastraeomorpha, Parastraeopora, Parepismiliidae, Pectinia, Phacellocoenia, Phylloseriopsis, Phyllosmilioidea, Platygyra, Plavecia, Plerogyridae, Plesiastreidae, Pleuropodia, Procladocora, Psammocyathus, Pyramisasteria, Reisocyathus, Reussiphyllia, Rhabdofavia, Rhipidogyrina, Rhopalophyllia, Saeptiphyllia, Sakalavastraeopsis, Saltastraea, Sclydolithus, Siderocoenia, Siliningastraea, Sinasteria, Siniastraea, Smilostyliidae, Solenocoeniidae, Streptocyathopsis, Streptocyathus, Stylinina, Stylophyllina, Substuoresia, Tarbellastraea, Thamnasteria cycloides, Thamnasteria komagataensis, Thamnasteria maxima, Thamnasteria protoserioides, Thamnasteria rikuzenica, Thamnasteriidae, Thamnasterites, Thamnastraea, Thecoseriopsis, Thecosmiliidae, Thigmastrea, Trachyphyllia, Tropiastraea, Tropiastraeidae
Subtaxa: Anisocoenia Antiguastrea Antillophyllia Aquitanastraea Astrea Australogyra Bikiniastrea Boninastrea Cladocora Coelastrea Cyphastrea Dictuophyllia Diplogyra Dipsastraea Echinomorpha Echinopora Edwardsastraea Erythrastrea Favites Fungophyllia Goniastrea Hydnophora Hydnophyllia Leptoria Liptodendron Merulina Monticulastraea Mycedium Orbicella Oulophyllia Paraclavarina Paragoniastrea Paraleptoria Paramontastraea Parastrea Pectinia Phacellocoenia Platygyra Plavecia Procladocora Scapophyllia Tarbellastraea Trachyphyllia
Type: Merulina
Ecology: stationary intermediate-level epifaunal microcarnivore-photosymbiotic
Distribution:
• Quaternary of Antigua and Barbuda (1 collection), Australia (80), the Bahamas (54), Barbados (73), Belize (7), Bonaire (6), Cayman Islands (44), Christmas Island (5), Colombia (50), Cook Islands (1), Costa Rica (29), Curaçao (84), Djibouti (2), Dominica (1), the Dominican Republic (14), Egypt (66), Eritrea (3), Fiji (1), France (2), French Polynesia (13), Greece (3), Guadeloupe (2), Guam (3), Haiti (10), India (14), Indonesia (19), Iran (5), Israel (1), Italy (8), Jamaica (10), Japan (89), Jordan (3), Kenya (34), Kiribati (1), Madagascar (1), Malaysia (1), Maldives (1), Mauritius (5), Mayotte (2), Mexico (2), Montserrat (1), New Caledonia (34), New Zealand (16), North Pacific (2), Northern Mariana Islands (1), Pakistan (5), Palau (1), Panama (32), Papua New Guinea (34), the Philippines (9), Pitcairn (2), Puerto Rico (1), Saint Kitts and Nevis (6), Saint Lucia (1), Saudi Arabia (20), the Seychelles (11), Somalia (1), South Pacific (5), Spain (1), Sri Lanka (4), Sudan (1), Taiwan (6), Turks and Caicos Islands (1), Tuvalu (1), United States (30: Florida, Hawaii), Vanuatu (15), Venezuela (1), Virgin Islands (13)
• Pliocene to Pleistocene of the Bahamas (1), Costa Rica (9), Egypt (1), Indonesia (19), Jamaica (1), the Philippines (2), Saudi Arabia (2), United States (1: Florida), United States Minor Outlying Islands (1)
• Pliocene of the Bahamas (12), Costa Rica (14), Curaçao (13), Cyprus (1), the Dominican Republic (23), Egypt (1), French Polynesia (1), Haiti (3), India (1), Indonesia (39), Italy (1), Jamaica (2), Japan (6), Malaysia (3), Papua New Guinea (2), Spain (4), Taiwan (4), United States (4: California, Florida, Hawaii)
• Miocene to Pleistocene of Indonesia (1)
• Miocene to Pliocene of Aruba (1), the Dominican Republic (7), Indonesia (14), Malaysia (1), United States (1: Puerto Rico)
• Miocene of Algeria (12), Anguilla (2), Australia (1), Austria (20), Belgium (1), Brazil (1), Bulgaria (2), Colombia (10), Cuba (1), Curaçao (1), Cyprus (3), the Dominican Republic (24), Egypt (11), Fiji (6), France (36), Greece (42), Grenada (3), Haiti (3), Hungary (9), Indonesia (45), Iran (14), Israel (1), Italy (14), Japan (4), Libya (3), Malaysia (1), Malta (3), the Marshall Islands (2), Mexico (6), Moldova (4), Morocco (15), New Zealand (5), Pakistan (1), Panama (19), Papua New Guinea (7), Poland (4), Portugal (5), Romania (6), Saudi Arabia (4), Sint Maarten (1), Slovakia (3), Slovenia (1), Somalia (5), South Pacific (1), Spain (19), Sri Lanka (1), Sudan (1), Tanzania (1), Trinidad and Tobago (10), Türkiye (13), Ukraine (2), United States (3: Florida), United States Minor Outlying Islands (1), Venezuela (2)
• Neogene of Poland (1)
• Oligocene to Miocene of Christmas Island (11), Indonesia (1), Iran (1), New Zealand (1), Somalia (1), United States (3: Florida)
• Oligocene of Antigua and Barbuda (11), Costa Rica (2), Cuba (2), the Dominican Republic (3), France (4), Greece (5), India (1), Iran (3), Italy (63), Jamaica (2), Libya (4), Malta (10), Mexico (6), Puerto Rico (3), Saudi Arabia (2), Slovenia (4), Somalia (6), Spain (4), Türkiye (5), United States (3: Florida, Georgia, Texas), Venezuela (4)
• Eocene to Oligocene of Greece (1)
• Eocene of Austria (1), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1), Christmas Island (1), Colombia (5), Croatia (3), Cuba (1), Czechia (2), France (1), Germany (2), Hungary (6), Indonesia (2), Italy (12), Jamaica (4), Libya (1), the Marshall Islands (1), Mexico (5), Pakistan (3), Panama (3), Papua New Guinea (1), Romania (1), Saint Barthélemy (1), Slovakia (2), Slovenia (1), Spain (9), Ukraine (1), United States (5: California, North Carolina, South Carolina)
• Paleocene to Eocene of Slovakia (1)
• Tertiary of Indonesia (1)
• Paleocene of Antarctica (1), Argentina (2), Austria (1), Egypt (4), France (1), India (1), Iran (2), Italy (2), Pakistan (3), Puerto Rico (1), Slovakia (1), Somalia (2), Spain (2), United States (1: Alabama)
• Cretaceous of Austria (4), Bulgaria (4), China (4), Croatia (1), Czechia (3), Egypt (3), France (2), Georgia (1), Germany (7), Greece (4), Iran (1), Jamaica (25), Japan (1), Madagascar (1), Mexico (8), the Netherlands (4), Oman (4), Pakistan (2), Poland (1), Portugal (1), Romania (1), Saudi Arabia (1), Serbia (7), Slovakia (1), Slovenia (3), Somalia (1), Spain (12), Switzerland (1), Tajikistan (1), Trinidad and Tobago (1), the United Arab Emirates (2), United States (3: California, Texas), Venezuela (3)
• Jurassic to Cretaceous of Poland (1)
• Jurassic of Algeria (1), India (1), Japan (1), Jordan (1), Lebanon (1), Tunisia (1), the United Kingdom (1)
• Triassic of Italy (1)
• Carboniferous of Belgium (1)
Total: 2012 collections including 4632 occurrences