brain coral

American  

noun

1. any of several reef-building corals of the genus Meandrina, having a highly convoluted and furrowed surface.

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brain coral British  

noun

1. a stony coral of the genus Meandrina , in which the polyps lie in troughlike thecae resembling the convoluted surface of a human brain

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Etymology

Origin of brain coral

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

She neared what had been a promising colony of knobby brain coral, tiny and dome-shaped with undulating ridges.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2023

In Florida, Hagedorn and colleagues were trying it on Diploria labyrinthiformis, a kind of brain coral whose larvae are more than 100 times bigger than those of mushroom coral.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 21, 2023

One of these organisms, Ancoracysta twista, was discovered in 2017 on tropical aquarium brain coral by Keeling and others, but it was so weird compared to other microbes that it was considered an "orphan."

From Salon • Dec. 10, 2022

Coral Morphologic sells a line of surf and swimwear that takes designs from flower anemones and brain coral and uses environmentally sustainable materials such as a type of nylon recycled from old fishing nets.

From Seattle Times • May 8, 2022

There was brain coral and organ-pipe coral that the parrot fish would nibble.

From "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor