mad rep orarIa

pl. [Mod. Lat. madrepor(a); Lat. neut. pl. adj. suff. -aria.] Zool.: White stony corals or madrepores, a suborder of Zoantharia, cla Anthozoa. If the animal be simple it resembles a sea anemone, having one or more ranges of tentacles, with an internal disc opening in a small mouth. The body may be cuplike, flat, bell-shaped, tubular, or compre ed like a fan. Externally, the body is covered with a disc, underneath which are various septa. A columella may or may not exist on the axis. The interstices and walls of the cells are always porous. Some corals are simple and separate, others are com