Acropora loripes
©Andy Lewis: Macro image of Acropora loripes showing the typical form of the Axial and radial corallites
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Cnidaria
Class
Hexacorallia
Order
Scleractinia
Family
Acroporidae
Genus
Acropora
Species
Acropora loripes
Status
near threatened
Colours
Distinguishing features
This species is generally corymbose, although the colony morphology can be quite variable. The branchlets are variable in size and orientation, and many of the axial polyps have a bare area on one side (usually the upper) with no radial corallites. Colours include pale brownish-purple, light brown, brownish-yellow, and blue-purple.
Size
- Size data has not been obtained.
Synonyms
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
Distribution and habitat preferences
Upper reef slopes and shallow reef flats.
Abundant in shallow habitats around Lizard Island.
Behaviour
Like most Acroporidae, this species is a hermaphrodite broadcast spawner, releasing gametes shortly after dark in the few days after the full moon in the warmer months between November and February.
Web resources
References
- Abrego, D., M.J.H. Van Oppen and B.L. Willis (2009). Onset of algal endosymbiont specificity varies among closely related species of Acropora corals during early ontogeny, Molecular Ecology, 18: 3532-3543.
- Babcock, R.C., G.D. Bull, P.L. Harrison, A.J. Heyward, J.K. Oliver, C.C. Wallace and B.L. Willis (1986). Synchronous spawnings of 105 scleractinian coral species on the Great Barrier Reef, Marine Biology, 90: 379-394. LIRS catalog number 300.
- Baird, A.H., J.R. Guest and B.L. Willis (2009). Systematic and biogeographical patterns in the reproductive biology of scleractinian corals, Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 40: 551-571.
- View all references