''Acropora valida'' 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 ...

found in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

, the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...

, the southwestern, northwestern and northern Indian Ocean, the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

, the central

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 ...

, Australia, southeast Asia, Japan, the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

, the oceanic western, central and far eastern Pacific Ocean, the northwestern

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

and

Johnston Atoll Johnston Atoll is an Unincorporated territories of the United States, unincorporated territory of the United States, currently administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Johnston Atoll is a National Wildlife Refuge and ...

. It occurs in tropical shallow reefs in a variety of reef habitats, at depths of .

Taxonomy

It was originally described as ''Madrepora valida'' by Dana in 1846.

Description

It is found in colonies of varying shapes, with diameters sometimes above . It has small axial corallites and its radial corallites are appressed and in a variety of sizes. It is brown, cream, or yellow in colour, and branch tips are sometimes purple. It looks similar to ''

Acropora variabilis ''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 ...

''.

Distribution

It is classed as a least concern 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 ...

, but it is believed that its population is decreasing in line with the global decline of coral reefs, and it is listed under Appendix II of CITES. Figures of its population are unknown, but is likely to be threatened by the global reduction of coral reefs, the increase of temperature causing coral bleaching, climate change, human activity, the crown-of-thorns starfish (''Acanthaster planci'') and disease. It occurs 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 Sea, the oceanic western, central and far eastern Pacific Ocean, the northwestern Hawaiian Islands and Johnston Atoll. It is found at depths of between in tropical shallow reefs in a large range of reef habitats.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13227662 Acropora Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Fauna of the Indian Ocean Fauna of the Red Sea Marine fauna of Asia Marine fauna of Oceania Fauna of Southeast Asia Vulnerable fauna of Asia Vulnerable fauna of Oceania Corals described in 1846