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The animal on the cover of Building Evolutionary Architectures is the open brain coral (Trachyphyllia geoffroyi). Also known as a “folded brain” or “crater” coral, this large-polyp stony (LPS) coral is native to the Indian Ocean. Known for its distinctive folds, bright colors, and hardiness, this free-living coral subsists on the photosynthetic output of a surface layer of zooxanthellae during the day, while at night it extends tentacles from its polyps to steer prey, which include various plankton as well as small fish, into one of its mouths (some open brain corals have two or three of them).

Because of its striking appearance and easy-to-accomodate diet, Trachyphyllia geoffroyi is a popular choice for aquariums, where it thrives in the bottom layer of sand and/or silt resembling the shallow seafloors of its native habitat. They benefit from an environment with moderate water flow and rich with plant and animal matter to consume.

Trachyphyllia geoffroyi is listed on the IUCN Red List at Near Threatened status. Many of the animals on O’Reilly covers are endangered; all of them are important to the world. To learn more about how you can help, go to animals.oreilly.com.

The cover image is from Jean Vincent Félix Lamouroux’s Exposition Methodique des genres de L’Ordre des Polypiers. The cover fonts are URW Typewriter and Guardian Sans. The text font is Adobe Minion Pro; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is Dalton Maag’s Ubuntu Mono.