Acropora spathulata
©Anne Hoggett: A partly bleached colony of Acropora spathulata at MacGillivray Reef in Jan 2009. Identified by Zoe Richards, Nov 2017.
©Anne Hoggett: Close-up of partly-bleached Acropora spathulata colony at MacGillivray Reef in Jan 2009.
©Anne Hoggett: A smaller colony of Acropora spathulata at MacGillivray Reef near Lizard Island in Jan 2009.
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Cnidaria
Class
Hexacorallia
Order
Scleractinia
Family
Acroporidae
Genus
Acropora
Species
Acropora spathulata
Status
least concern
Colours
Distinguishing features
Corymbose colonies with relatively thick (>2cm wide) and well spaced branches. Radial corallites evenly distributed and labellate (scale-like). (Contributed by Zoe Richards)
Size
- Size data has not been obtained.
Synonyms
Similar taxa
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Animalia:
species: Acropora millepora
has finer (~1 cm), more closely compacted branches and more obvious axials (contributed by Zoe Richards).
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
Distribution and habitat preferences
Protected shallow back reef, lagoonal, and reef flat habitats.
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.
- Alvarez-Noriega, M., A.H. Baird,2, M. Dornelas, J.S. Madin, V.R. Cumbo, and S.R. Connolly (2016). Fecundity and the demographic strategies of coral morphologies, Ecology, 97(12): 3485-3493. LIRS catalog number 2048.
- Alvarez-Noriega, M., A.H. Baird, M. Dornelas, J.S. Madin and S.R. Connolly (2018). Negligible effect of competition on coral colony growth. Ecology, 99 (6): 1347-1356. LIRS catalog number 2239.
- View all references