对Ｃｈａｒａｃｔｏｐｈｙｌｕｍ作了全面的回顾整理，记述了本属的骨骼构造，在此基础上讨论了其定义范围和时空分布及有关的分类问题。Ｃｈａｒａｃｔｏｐｈｙｌｕｍ的隔壁为板状隔壁而非包珊瑚型隔壁，由波状弯曲的单列单晶榍组成，单晶榍整体呈半扇形排列而非扇形排列，隔壁光滑或发育微弱的榍凸（ｃａｒｉｎａｅ）而无典型的横耙状榍凸（ｙａｒｄａｒｍｃａｒｉｎａｅ），鳞板半扇形排列而不是扇形排列。本属分布仅限于北美和华北的晚泥盆世早期。Ｃｈａｒａｃｔｏｐｈｙｌｕｍ隔壁中单晶榍由放射状排列的不规则短轴晶柱和晶针组成，横列构造鳞板和横板均由晶板型层状骨骼组成。本属骨骼微细构造的重要特征具有奥陶志留纪与石炭二叠纪四射珊瑚之间的过渡性质。表明四射珊瑚骨骼微细构造演化趋向稳定，是追索演化的重要线索，在较高级别的分类中具有重要意义 Charactophylum was comprehensively reviewed, the skeleton of this genus was described, and the definition of its scope and space-time distribution and related classification problems were discussed. The walls of Charactophylum are plate-shaped partitions instead of coral-type partitions, consisting of undulating single-row single crystals that are generally semi-fanned out rather than fan-shaped, with smooth walls or weakly developed carinae without Typical yardarm carinae, scaly half-fan-shaped rather than fan-shaped arrangement. The distribution is limited to North America and North China early Devonian. Charactophylum adjacent to the single-crystal 榍 by irregular radial array of pins and needles crystal composition, horizontal structure of slab and horizontal plate by the crystal plate layered bones. An important feature of the fine structure of the skeleton is the transitional nature between Ordovician-Silurian and Carboniferous-Permian coral. It shows that the evolution of the fine structure of the tetrachromatic coral tends to be stable and is an important clue to the evolution of the trace, which is of great significance in the higher-level classification