''Acropora hoeksemai'' is a species of acroporid

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 sec ...

that was first described by Dr.

Carden Wallace Carden Crea Wallace ( fl. 1970–) is an Australian scientist who was the curator/director of the Museum of Tropical Queensland from 1987 to 2003. She is an expert on corals having written a "revision of the Genus ''Acropora''". Wallace was ...

in 1997. Found in shallow reefs in a marine environment, it is found at depths of . It is listed as a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened 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 ...

, and has a decreasing population. It is common, listed on Appendix II of CITES, and is found over a large range.

Description

''Acropora hoeksemai'' is found in colonies that can be wide, made of branches joined in the centre of the structure. Some larger colonies have been observed at over . It is a light brown, white, or cream colour, and the branch ends are upturned, except on the outside of the structure. These branches are not regular, and contain both axial and radial corallites. Axial corallites can have diameters of between . Radial corallites are tube-shaped, neat, orderly, and they are the same sizes. They contain basic spinules. The branches may grow to lengths of up to and diameters of between . It is found in marine environments in shallow reefs at depths of , and also on slopes and walls of reefs. It reaches maturity at between three and eight years, and it is believed to survive for more than ten years. It is composed of

aragonite Aragonite is a carbonate mineral, one of the three most common naturally occurring crystal forms of calcium carbonate, (the other forms being the minerals calcite and vaterite). It is formed by biological and physical processes, including prec ...

(calcium carbonate). When grown in captivity it reaches lengths of up to . ''A. hoeksemai'' looks similar to ''

Acropora valenciennesi ''Acropora'' is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. ''Acropora'' species are some of the major reef corals r ...

'' and species of the ''Acropora divaricata'' group.

Distribution

''Acropora hoeksemai'' is a common species and found over a large range; the Solomans, the Indo-Pacific oceans, Papua New Guinea, Okinawa, Southeast Asia, and Thailand. It is native to Australia, Indonesia (found in five regions), Malaysia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and the Solomon Islands. There is no specific population for the coral, but numbers are known to be decreasing. It is easily damaged by disease and bleaching, and is also threatened by being prey to starfish ''Acanthaster planci'', climate change, temperature rises, fishing, infrastructure, and other human activities. Some species could be found in Marine Protected Areas. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and also appears on CITES Appendix II.

Taxonomy

It was first described by C.C. Wallace in 1997 as ''Acropora hoeksemai'' in Indonesia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3948727 Acropora Animals described in 1997 Vulnerable animals