brain coral

noun

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

brain coral

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of brain coral¹

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.

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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."

Read more on Salon

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.

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The tiles are designed in layers, using biomimicry to replicate the geometry of a brain coral, so as not to interfere with the growth patterns of real coral.

Read more on The Guardian

They split and clone themselves one by one to eventually form large, curious looking underwater structures — brain coral, staghorn, elkhorn, fan, star and hundreds more shapes, depending on their species.

Read more on New York Times