
Coral Description
Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia >> Phylum: Cnidaria >> Class: Anthozoa >> Order: Scleractinia >> Family: Acroporidae
Appearance:
- Wide flat plates/tables or tiered groups of small plates
- Branches are thin and delicately structured unless in exposed environments where they will fuse for strength
- Branchlets fine and upward projecting
Colour: Cream, brown, green, purple/blue, pink.
Axial Corallites:
- Distinct
- Not exsert
Radial Corallites:
- Cup shaped
- Form rosette pattern
Similar species: Known to intergrade with other species and can be difficult to distinguish. A. cytherea branchlets have exsert axial corallites and radial corallites are not arranged in a rosette. A. spicifera has more robust branchlets.
Habitat: Very abundant on exposed outer reef slopes.
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