''Anacropora'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

stony corals Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a mo ...

in the

Acroporidae 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 ...

family. They are sometimes called briar corals and there are seven known

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

Description

Members of this genus are generally fragile corals with branches less than ten centimetres long which form small colonies. The branches are either spreading or may be clustered and are sometimes fused together. The calices are rounded and up to one millimetre in diameter. The area between the calices is porous with numerous small tubercles. There are no 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 and the main

septa The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

number six with a few more subsidiary ones. The small radial corallites have an ‘empty’ appearance similar to ''

Montipora ''Montipora'' is a genus of Scleractinian corals in the phylum Cnidaria. Members of the genus ''Montipora'' may exhibit many different growth morphologies. With eighty five known species, ''Montipora'' is the second most species rich coral genus ...

''. The delicate tentacles can often be seen extended during the day.

Distribution

Members of this genus occur in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

and the western Pacific being found mostly in muddy waters. They are generally uncommon and are not a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

species.

Species

*'' Anacropora forbesi'' - Ridley, 1884 *'' Anacropora matthai'' - Pillai, 1973 *'' Anacropora pillai'' - Veron, 2002 *'' Anacropora puertogalerae'' - Nemenzo, 1964 *'' Anacropora reticulata'' - Veron and Wallace, 1984 *'' Anacropora spinosa'' - Rehberg, 1892 *'' Anacropora spumosa'' - Veron, Turak & DeVantier, 2002

References

Acroporidae Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Fauna of the Indian Ocean Marine fauna of Asia Marine fauna of Oceania Scleractinia genera {{scleractinia-stub