Biomineralization: Skeleton Structure and Evolutionary History

This lecture delves into the structure and phylogeny of scleractinian corals, emphasizing the need for reliable taxonomic criteria to describe modern and past coral diversity. It explores major publications on coral systematics, written by paleontologists, and discusses the micromorphological diversity of scleractinian corals. The presentation covers the traditional morphological criteria used to classify corals, the two-step diel pattern of skeleton growth, and the physicochemical models of coral skeleton construction. It also examines the molecular phylogeny of scleractinian corals, shedding light on their evolutionary tree and the significance of various families and genera.