Acropora muricata

Acropora muricata (2) thicket on coral frame Reefscapers Maldives

Coral Description

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia >> Phylum: Cnidaria >> Class: Anthozoa >> Order: Scleractinia >> Family: Acroporidae

Appearance:

  • Arborescent colonies forming thickets
  • Branches are cylindrical
  • Compact in shallow water and open in deeper environments

Colony size: can be over 10m across

Colour: Usually cream, brown or blue.

Axial Corallites:  

  • Prominent and protruding

Radial Corallites:

  • Tubular
  • Can be uniform or variable in size and distribution

Similar species: Acropora teres has smaller axial and radial corallites, A. abrolhosensis has larger axial corallites, A. copiosa has smaller branches and corallites, A. intermedia has rasp-like radial corallites, and A. grandis has larger elongate radial corallites.

Habitat: Shallow lagoons and reef slopes

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