''Acropora subglabra'' 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 the northern Indian Ocean, 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 ...

, Australia, Southeast Asia, Japan, the East China Sea and the oceanic west Pacific Ocean. It occurs in tropical shallow reefs, and its range is often restricted to sheltered back reefs containing soft substrates and clear water. It can be found from depths of and was described by Brook in 1891.

Taxonomy

It was originally described as ''Madrepora subglabra'' by Brook in 1891.

Description

It occurs in colonies of thickets containing branches with appearances like bottlebrush. Colonies appear to be bushy due to the irregular division of branches. Its incipient axial and axial corallites taper to a point and are tube-shaped; its appressed radial corallites are short. The species is pale brown in colour and branches can have yellow tips.

Distribution

It is classed as a least concern species 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 ...

, but it is believed that its population is decreasing in line with the global decline of coral reefs, and it is listed under Appendix II of CITES. Figures of its population are unknown, but is likely to be threatened by the global reduction of coral reefs, the increase of temperature causing coral bleaching, climate change, human activity, the crown-of-thorns starfish (''Acanthaster planci'') and disease. It occurs in the northern Indian Ocean, the central Indo-Pacific, Australia, Southeast Asia, Japan, the East China Sea and the oceanic western Pacific Ocean. It is found at depths of between and is found in tropical shallow reefs; its range is often restricted to sheltered back reefs containing soft substrates and clear water.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3952575 Acropora Corals described in 1891