Acroporidae
Encyclopedia
Acroporidae is a family of small polyped stony corals
in the phylum Cnidaria
. The name is derived from the Greek "akron" meaning "summit" and refers to the presence of a corallite at the tip of each branch of coral. They are commonly known as staghorn corals and are grown in aquaria
by reef hobbyists.
builders. They come in many shapes and sizes and can be highly variable in colour and form, even within the same species
. Most are either branched or table-top shaped and some are encrusting. Their colours vary between browns, whites, pinks, blues, yellows, greens and purple, depending not only on species but also on the growing conditions. Identification is difficult and requires close examination of the corallites and a biochemical and genetic analysis. There is a corallite at the tip of each branch and, with the exception of Astreopora
, these are small with up to twelve septa in two cycles.
and Pacific Ocean
. Acropora is cosmopolitan and is both common and conspicuous, usually being dominant in Indo-Pacific reefs. Enigmopora is represented by a single new species, Enigmopora darveliensis, found in Malaysia and the Philippines
.
s. They are mostly broadcast-spawners and some species have been involved in annual synchronous mass-spawning events on the Great Barrier Reef
and in Japanese and Indonesian waters. Some species undergo fragmentation, a form of asexual reproduction
, and this sometimes results in reefs composed of a single species.
Scleractinia
Scleractinia, also called stony corals, are exclusively marine animals; they are very similar to sea anemones but generate a hard skeleton. They first appeared in the Middle Triassic and replaced tabulate and rugose corals that went extinct at the end of the Permian...
in the phylum Cnidaria
Cnidaria
Cnidaria is a phylum containing over 9,000 species of animals found exclusively in aquatic and mostly marine environments. Their distinguishing feature is cnidocytes, specialized cells that they use mainly for capturing prey. Their bodies consist of mesoglea, a non-living jelly-like substance,...
. The name is derived from the Greek "akron" meaning "summit" and refers to the presence of a corallite at the tip of each branch of coral. They are commonly known as staghorn corals and are grown in aquaria
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
by reef hobbyists.
Description
Staghorn corals are the dominant group of reefReef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
builders. They come in many shapes and sizes and can be highly variable in colour and form, even within the same species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
. Most are either branched or table-top shaped and some are encrusting. Their colours vary between browns, whites, pinks, blues, yellows, greens and purple, depending not only on species but also on the growing conditions. Identification is difficult and requires close examination of the corallites and a biochemical and genetic analysis. There is a corallite at the tip of each branch and, with the exception of Astreopora
Astreopora
Astreopora is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are about thirteen species.-Description:...
, these are small with up to twelve septa in two cycles.
Distribution
Anacropora, Astreopora and Montipora are found in the IndianIndian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. Acropora is cosmopolitan and is both common and conspicuous, usually being dominant in Indo-Pacific reefs. Enigmopora is represented by a single new species, Enigmopora darveliensis, found in Malaysia and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
Biology
Staghorn corals are hermaphroditeHermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
s. They are mostly broadcast-spawners and some species have been involved in annual synchronous mass-spawning events on the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
and in Japanese and Indonesian waters. Some species undergo fragmentation, a form of asexual reproduction
Asexual reproduction
Asexual reproduction is a mode of reproduction by which offspring arise from a single parent, and inherit the genes of that parent only, it is reproduction which does not involve meiosis, ploidy reduction, or fertilization. A more stringent definition is agamogenesis which is reproduction without...
, and this sometimes results in reefs composed of a single species.