''Acropora acuminata'' is a species of

acroporid Acroporidae is a family of small polyped stony corals in the phylum Cnidaria. The name is derived from the Greek ''"akron"'' meaning "summit" and refers to the presence of a corallite at the tip of each branch of coral. They are commonly known a ...

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secre ...

found in Australia, the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

, the central

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

, Japan, the northern Indian Ocean, the East China Sea, southeast Asia, and the western Pacific Ocean. It is particularly susceptible to

coral bleaching Coral bleaching is the process when corals become white due to various stressors, such as changes in temperature, light, or nutrients. Bleaching occurs when coral polyps expel the zooxanthellae (dinoflagellates that are commonly referred to as al ...

, the crown-of-thorns sea star (''Acanthaster planci''), and harvesting for the aquarium trade. It is found on shallow

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

s from depths of 5–20 m. It was described by Verrill in 1864.

Description

It is found in table-shaped colonies mainly consisting of horizontal branches, which taper to points. Corallites are not visible on the horizontal branches of specimens and form parts of the branches, while corallites on vertical branches exist in two forms, including a large tube-shaped form. It is brown or pale blue in colour and appears similar to '' Acropora hoeksemai''. Radial corallites have nariform or oval openings and generally do not come in contact with each other.

Distribution

It is classed as a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulne ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

as the population is decreasing, and is listed under Appendix II of CITES. Its population is unknown, but is likely to be threatened by the global reduction of coral reefs, the increase of temperature causing bleaching, climate change, human activity, aquarium-related harvesting, the crown-of-thorns starfish (''Acanthaster planci''), and disease. It is found in the Red Sea, southeast Asia, Australia, the northern Indian Ocean, Japan, the central Indo-Pacific, the East China Sea and the western Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

It was described by Verrill in 1864 as ''Madrepora acuminata''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3940248 Acropora Corals described in 1864 Vulnerable animals