''Acropora abrolhosensis'' 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 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 secre ...

that was first described by John Veron in 1985. Found in sheltered lagoons and shallow reefs, it is listed as a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulne ...

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 ...

. The population of the species is decreasing, and most specimens are found in Western Australia, but occurs in many other areas. It is also listed under

CITES Appendix II CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

Description

''Acropora abrolhosensis'' specimens are found in tree-shaped colonies and are pink, blue, or brown, and the branch tips are pale in colour. These colonies consist of several straight branches, which have large axial corallites (at the end of each branch) and the radial corallites (up the side of each branch) contain circular openings and have swollen ends. The colonies can be over wide and high, and are sometimes compact. Its axial corallites are in diameter. It is similar to '' Acropora copiosa'' and '' Acropora loisetteae''. The species is found at depths of , and is found in enclosed sheltered lagoons and the slopes of sheltered reefs.

Distribution

''Acropora abrolhosensis'' can be found in Australian waters, the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

, the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

, the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fren ...

, the East China Sea, the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its ca ...

and the western Pacific. It is abundant at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands. It is also believed to exist at the Marshall Islands and Fiji. It is threatened by reef destruction and bleaching, and the population may be affected by the '' Acanthaster placini''. The coral can be found at temperatures of . It is classed as a

on the

as the population is decreasing, and is listed under Appendix II of CITES. Its population is unknown but is likely to be threatened by the global reduction of coral reefs, the increase of temperature causing bleaching, and disease.

Taxonomy

''Acropora abrolhosensis'' was first described by John Veron in 1985 at Australian coral reefs.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3941654 Acropora Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Cnidarians of Australia Marine fauna of Asia Marine fauna of Oceania Vulnerable fauna of Asia Vulnerable fauna of Oceania Vulnerable fauna of Australia Animals described in 1985