''Astreopora'' 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 ...

of stony corals 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. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen

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 ...

currently recognized.

Description

Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounded heads but sometimes have leaflike extensions, be encrusting or form plates, vases and branches.Coral Hub
/ref> They are much larger than members of the genus ''

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 ...

''. They have a wide range of colours including yellow, brown, green, pink and blue but the most common are whitish-blue. The

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 distinct and separate, sometimes raised on cones and sometimes depressed, up to four millimetres across and round in cross-section. The skeleton is porous with the

coenosteum In corals, the coenosteum is the stony skeletal material secreted by the coenosarc, the layer of living material lying between the corallites (the stony cups in which the polyps sit). The coenosteum is composed of aragonite Aragonite is a carbo ...

having a net-like appearance. The coral appears rough-textured because of tiny spines that cover the surface between the corallites. The

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 ...

are poorly developed giving corals of this genus the appearance of being filled with holes.Classification of Scleractinian (Stony) Corals
/ref>

Distribution

Members of this genus occur 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 Indian Ocean and the western Pacific. They are widespread but not particularly common and are 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 ...

building species. They are found in a range of environments including shallow or muddy waters, as well as deeper areas of the reef where plating forms are most common. In shallow water they are inconspicuous and are never dominant. They may form heads of up to two metres in diameter and in deeper waters they may be much more common.

Ecology

The porous skeleton of these corals provide a home to a variety of

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class (biology), class of generally marine invertebrate, marine annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that ...

worms that weaken the calcium carbonate structure by tunnelling into it. Several species of coral-inhabiting

barnacle A barnacle is a type of arthropod constituting the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in eros ...

s are associated with ''Astreopora''. In fact, '' Hiroa stubbingsi'' and two species of '' Cionophorus'' seem to occur nowhere else. In the case of ''H. stubbingsi'', which has a primitive wall and a relatively unspecialised operculum, this may be because it is not equipped to occupy other corals, but the ''Cionophorus'' species are smaller and it is an enigma why they are not found elsewhere.

Species

Known species include: * ''

Astreopora acroporina ''Astreopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized. Description Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounde ...

'' Wallace, Turak & DeVantier, 2011 * '' Astreopora cenderawasih'' Wallace, Turak & DeVantier, 2011 * '' Astreopora cucullata'' Lamberts, 1980 * '' Astreopora expansa'' Brüggemann, 1877 * '' Astreopora explanata'' Veron, 1985 * '' Astreopora gracilis'' Bernard, 1896 * '' Astreopora incrustans'' Bernard, 1896 * '' Astreopora lambertsi'' Moll and Best, 1984 * '' Astreopora listeri'' Bernard, 1896 * '' Astreopora macrostoma'' Veron and Wallace, 1984 * '' Astreopora monteporina'' Wallace, Turak & DeVantier, 2011 * ''

Astreopora moretonensis ''Astreopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized. Description Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounde ...

'' Veron and Wallace, 1984 * ''

Astreopora myriophthalma ''Astreopora myriophthalma'', sometimes known as porous star coral, is a species of hard coral found in shallow water in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation ...

'' (Lamarck, 1816) * ''

Astreopora ocellata ''Astreopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized. Description Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounde ...

'' Bernard, 1896 * ''

Astreopora randalli ''Astreopora'' is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized. Description Members of this genus mostly form dome-shaped or rounde ...

'' Lamberts, 1980 * '' Astreopora scabra'' Lamberts, 1982 * '' Astreopora suggesta'' Wells, 1954

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3327810 Acroporidae Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Fauna of the Red Sea Marine fauna of Oceania Taxa named by Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville