''Acropora batunai'' 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 ...

that was described by

Carden Wallace Carden Crea Wallace (fl. 1970–) is an Australian scientist who was the curator/director of the Museum of Tropical Queensland from 1987 to 2003. She is an expert on corals having written a "revision of the Genus ''Acropora''". Wallace was p ...

in 1997. Found in protected, shallow reefs, it occurs in a marine environment at depths of up to . The species is rated as

vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...

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 ...

, with a decreasing population, and is extremely fragile. It can be found over a large area but, overall, is not common.

Description

''Acropora batunai'' species form in structures resembling cushions or corymboses that are thick and wide. In colour, it is grey, blue, pale brown, and sometimes pink or brown-white. It has long flat branches which contain upright-facing branches and can be arranged in a table-like structure. The radial corallites and axial corallites are combined, small, sharp and tube-like, with the radial corallites are arranged like bottlebrushes. Axial corallites have diameters of (outer) and (inner). The species is similar to '' Acropora microclados'' and '' Acropora rambleri''. It is found in sheltered shallow reefs at depths of up to , but is most common on reef slopes at . It is possible that it can be found at deep. It uses its polyps to catch plankton.

Distribution

''Acropora batunai'' is not common and can be found in the

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 ...

, in Fiji, Ponape, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It lives in marine habitats in reefs of the central and west Pacific Ocean. It is found in one region of Indonesia, and is incredibly fragile, and is threatened by the global reduction of coral reefs, the increase of temperature causing bleaching, disease, and being prey to the ''

Acanthaster planci The crown-of-thorns starfish (frequently abbreviated to COTS), ''Acanthaster planci'', is a large starfish that preys upon hard, or stony, coral polyps (Scleractinia). The crown-of-thorns starfish receives its name from venomous thorn-like spine ...

''. Some specimens occur in Marine Protected Areas. It is listed 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

as the population is decreasing, and is listed under Appendix II of CITES.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by Carden Wallace in 1997 as ''Acropora batunai'' in Indonesia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3942688 Acropora Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Fauna of Oceania Fauna of Southeast Asia Marine fauna of Asia Vulnerable animals Vulnerable fauna of Asia Vulnerable fauna of Oceania Animals described in 1997