Acropora millepora

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Acropora millepora

Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hexacorallia
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Acroporidae
Genus: Acropora
Species:
A. millepora
Binomial name
Acropora millepora
(Ehrenberg, 1834)[2]
Synonyms[2]
List
  • Acropora convexa (Dana, 1846)
  • Acropora librata Nemenzo, 1967
  • Acropora prostrata (Dana, 1846)
  • Acropora singularis Nemenzo, 1967
  • Heteropora millepora Ehrenberg, 1834
  • Madrepora convexa Dana, 1846
  • Madrepora prostrata Dana, 1846
  • Madrepora rubra Studer, 1878
  • Madrepora squamosa Brook, 1892

Acropora millepora is a species of branching stony coral native to the western Indo-Pacific where it is found in shallow water from the east coast of Africa to the coasts of Japan and Australia. It was first described in 1834 by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg as Heteropora millepora.[3][4]

Description

Acropora millepora is a small colonial coral that grows in clumps. The short branches are cylindrical. The radial corallites are all the same size and have projecting lower rims, giving them a scale-like appearance. The colour is variable and may be green with orange tipped branches, or pale pink, orange, plain green or blue.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Acropora millepora is a common species and is found in the western and central Indo-Pacific. Its range extends from the Red Sea, Kenya and South Africa to India, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and Australia. This coral grows in shallow water, between two and twelve metres (six and forty feet) deep, mostly on reef flats, but also on upper reef slopes and in lagoons.[1]

Ecology

Acropora millepora is a

coralline algae. It has been found that at lower temperatures (22.5 °C (72.5 °F)) the larvae were less specific as to their choice of settlement sites and that their survival rates were lower. Surprisingly, the choice of substrate for settlement was modified by the strain of symbiont present in the locality even though it had not yet infected the tissues.[5]

Status

The main threat affecting Acropora millepora is the destruction of the coral reefs where it lives. Although relatively common it is a shallow water species and susceptible to

References