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.
Acropora hyacinthus starting to table
starting to table
Acropora hyacinthus mature Reefscapers coral frame
mature coral frame
Acropora hyacinthus branch fusion
branch fusion
Acropora hyacinthus tiered form
tiered form
Acropora hyacinthus small colony on coral frame
small colony
Acropora hyacinthus corallite detail
corallite detail
Acropora hyacinthus bleached coral branch
bleached coral branch
Acropora hyacinthus corallite closeup
corallite closeup
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