''Acropora derawanensis'' 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 found in the eastern Indian Ocean and the west central Pacific Ocean. It is particularly susceptible to coral bleaching, disease, and

crown-of-thorns starfish 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 ...

predation.

Description

''Acropora derawanensis'' can grow to a metre or so in diameter. It forms upright (or occasionally prostrate) bush-like colonies of tangled slender branches. The axial

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 elongated and tubular, while the radial corallites are smaller, also tubular or pocket-shaped, and have angular edges. This coral is usually reddish-brown, with contrasting white or blueish axial corallites.

Distribution and habitat

''Acropora derawanensis'' is native to the eastern Indian Ocean and the western central Pacific Ocean, its range extending from Malaysia and Indonesia to the Philippines, northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. It inhabits various reef habitats but is most common on sheltered reef slopes at depths of between .

Status

The reefs on which ''Acropora derawanensis'' lives are under threat from global warming, increased ocean acidification and reef destruction. It is a generally uncommon species of coral and is particularly susceptible to bleaching and coral diseases. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "

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) ...

", considering that 39% of the colonies may be lost in the next thirty years (three generation lengths).

References

Acropora Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean Marine fauna of Asia Marine fauna of Oceania Marine fauna of Southeast Asia Anthozoa of Australia Vulnerable fauna of Asia Vulnerable fauna of Oceania Animals described in 1997 {{scleractinia-stub