''Acropora desalwii'' 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 that was first described by Dr Carden Wallace in 1994. Found in sheltered, tropical, shallow reefs, mainly on the slopes, this species is generally found at depths below , but this can be as low as . 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, with a decreasing population, and is affected by disease. It is common and found over a large area, and is listed under CITES Appendix II.

Description

''Acropora desalwii'' forms in corymbose colonies consisting of crowded branches. The branchlets at the edge of the corymbose colonies are obvious, upward-facing, and can have over a single axial corallite, which are tube-shaped and long, and facing upwards. It is green, brown or blue in colour, and radial corallites are also present on the sides of the branchlets. It resembles ''

Acropora parapharaonis ''Acropora valida'' is a species of acroporid coral found in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the southwestern, northwestern and northern Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the central Indo-Pacific, Australia, southeast Asia, Japan, the East China ...

'' and '' Acropora willisae''. It exists in a marine environment in tropical, shallow, sheltered reefs, generally at depths less than , but can be found at between . It is often kept in aquariums, where it reaches diameters of up to 25 cm.

Distribution

''Acropora desalwii'' is common and found over a large area; the Solomon Islands and 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 ...

, and it mainly occurs in Indonesia (two regions), Pohnpei, and the Philippines. It is native to Micronesia, Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Singapore. There is no known population for it, but the species is threatened by the decline of coral reefs, water temperatures increasing causing bleaching, disease, climate change, fishing, the acidification of oceans, pollution, invasive species, and ''Acanthaster planci''. Some specimens could occur within Marine Protected Areas, it listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List as the population is decreasing, and is listed under Appendix II of CITES.

Taxonomy

It was first described by C. C. Wallace in 1994 in the Indo-Pacific as ''Acropora desalwii''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3943316 Acropora Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Marine fauna of Asia Marine fauna of Oceania Fauna of Southeast Asia Vulnerable fauna of Asia Vulnerable fauna of Oceania Animals described in 1994