Coral Description
Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia >> Phylum: Cnidaria >> Class: Anthozoa >> Order: Scleractinia >> Family: Acroporidae
Appearance:
- Wide and flat tables
- Thin and finely structured, unless in high exposure environment
- Fine upward projecting branchlets
- Tentacles often extended during day
Colour: Pale cream, brown or blue
Axial Corallites: Exsert
Radial Corallites: Short with open calices
Similar species: Acropora selago has finer branches and corybose growth form. A. hyacinthus axial corallites are not exsert and radial corallites have rosette arrangement.
Environment: Upper reef slopes and lagoons.
Acropora cytherea edge of table
edge of table
Acropora cytherea small coral colony
small coral colony
Acropora cytherea large coral colony
large coral colony
Acropora cytherea branching pattern
branching pattern
Acropora cytherea coral bleached
bleached coral
Acropora cytherea coral skeleton fragment
coral skeleton fragment
Acropora cytherea corallites closeup
corallites closeup
Acropora cytherea coral fluorescence
coral fluorescence
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