Microstructure and crystallography in Axophyllinae. Precisions on the genus Morenaphyllum

Abstract

The microstructure of the genus Morenaphyllum  has been studied in ultrathin sections by means of petrographic microscopy and computer integrated polarization microscopy (CIP). Although the studied specimens are partially recrystallized, the microstructure can be observed in zones that are quite well preserved. Morenaphyllum  shows walls composed of lamellae piled in bundles, lamellar dissepiments, tabulae and stereoplasmatic thickenings and septa composed of small fi bres that change their orientation from the periphery to the axial zones of the coral. In spite of the presence of some peculiarities, this microstructure fi t well with that described in other Axophyllinae.