''Astreopora'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of stony corals in the

Acroporidae 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 ...

family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

currently recognized.

Description

Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounded heads but sometimes have leaflike extensions, which vary from massive mounds to encrusting, or which form plates, vases and branches.Coral Hub
/ref> They are much larger than members of the genus ''

Montipora ''Montipora'' is a genus of Scleractinian corals in the phylum Cnidaria. Members of the genus ''Montipora'' may exhibit many different growth morphologies. With eighty five known species, ''Montipora'' is the second most species rich coral genus ...

''. They have a wide range of colours including yellow, brown, green, pink and blue but the most common are whitish-blue. The

corallite A corallite is the skeletal cup, formed by an individual stony coral polyp, in which the polyp sits and into which it can retract. The cup is composed of aragonite, a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, and is secreted by the polyp. Corallit ...

s are distinct and separate, sometimes raised on cones and sometimes depressed, up to four millimetres across and round in cross-section. The skeleton is porous with the

coenosteum In corals, the coenosteum is the stony skeletal material secreted by the coenosarc, the layer of living material lying between the corallites (the stony cups in which the polyps sit). The coenosteum is composed of aragonite, a crystalline form of c ...

having a net-like appearance. The coral appears rough-textured because of tiny spines that cover the surface between the corallites. The

septa SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

are poorly developed giving corals of this genus the appearance of being filled with holes.

Distribution

Members of this genus occur in the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

, the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific. They are widespread but not particularly common and are a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

building species. They are found in a range of environments including shallow or muddy waters, as well as deeper areas of the reef where plating forms are most common. In shallow water they are inconspicuous and are never dominant. They may form heads of up to two metres in diameter and in deeper waters they may be much more common.

Ecology

The porous skeleton of these corals provide a home to a variety of

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine Annelid, annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called c ...

worms that weaken the

calcium carbonate Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a common substance found in Rock (geology), rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite, most notably in chalk and limestone, eggshells, gastropod shells, shellfish skel ...

structure by tunnelling into it. Several species of coral-inhabiting

barnacle Barnacles are arthropods of the subclass (taxonomy), subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacean, Crustacea. They are related to crabs and lobsters, with similar Nauplius (larva), nauplius larvae. Barnacles are exclusively marine invertebra ...

s are associated with ''Astreopora''. In fact, '' Hiroa stubbingsi'' and two species of '' Cionophorus'' seem to occur nowhere else. In the case of ''H. stubbingsi'', which has a primitive wall and a relatively unspecialised operculum, this may be because it is not equipped to occupy other corals, but the ''Cionophorus'' species are smaller and it is an enigma why they are not found elsewhere.

Species

Known species include: * ''

Astreopora acroporina ''Astreopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized. Description Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounde ...

'' Wallace, Turak & DeVantier, 2011 * '' Astreopora cenderawasih'' Wallace, Turak & DeVantier, 2011 * '' Astreopora cucullata'' Lamberts, 1980 * '' Astreopora expansa'' Brüggemann, 1877 * '' Astreopora explanata'' Veron, 1985 * ''

Astreopora gracilis ''Astreopora gracilis'' is a species of hard coral found in shallow water in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is an uncommon species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation ...

'' Bernard, 1896 * ''

Astreopora incrustans ''Astreopora incrustans'', commonly known as starflower coral, is a species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, ...

'' Bernard, 1896 * ''

Astreopora lambertsi ''Astreopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized. Description Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounde ...

'' Moll and Best, 1984 * ''

Astreopora listeri ''Astreopora listeri'' is a species of hard coral found in shallow water in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is an uncommon species with a wide range and is tolerant of turbid water, making it more resilient than some other corals to ha ...

'' Bernard, 1896 * ''

Astreopora macrostoma ''Astreopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized. Description Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounde ...

'' Veron and Wallace, 1984 * ''

Astreopora monteporina ''Astreopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized. Description Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounde ...

'' Wallace, Turak & DeVantier, 2011 * ''

Astreopora moretonensis ''Astreopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized. Description Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounde ...

'' Veron and Wallace, 1984 * ''

Astreopora myriophthalma ''Astreopora myriophthalma'', sometimes known as porous star coral, is a species of hard coral found in shallow water in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation ...

'' (Lamarck, 1816) * ''

Astreopora ocellata ''Astreopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized. Description Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounde ...

'' Bernard, 1896 * ''

Astreopora randalli ''Astreopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized. Description Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounde ...

'' Lamberts, 1980 * '' Astreopora scabra'' Lamberts, 1982 * '' Astreopora suggesta'' Wells, 1954

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3327810 Acroporidae Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Fauna of the Red Sea Marine fauna of Oceania Taxa named by Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville