The marine waters of the Houtman Abrolhos

Houtman Abrolhos

The Houtman Abrolhos is a chain of 122 islands, and associated coral reefs, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia. Nominally located at , it lies about eighty kilometres west of Geraldton, Western Australia...

, an island chain off the coast of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, have been recorded as containing 194 species of coral

Coral

Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...

 in 50 genera. This is a surprisingly high coral diversity, considering the high latitude of the reef, and the relatively low diversity of other biota. This is a list of corals of the Houtman Abrolhos:

Hermatypic coral

184 species in 42 genera of hermatypic coral

Hermatypic coral

Hermatypic corals or "stony corals" are reef-building corals, while corals that do not deposit aragonite structures and contribute to coral reef development are referred to as ahermatypic species....

s have been recorded from the Houtman Abrolhos:

Acanthastrea echinata Acanthastrea echinata Acanthastrea echinata, also known as Pineapple coral, Artichoke coral, Starry cup coral, and Favia, is a coral often used in aquariums.-Description:... Acanthastrea hillae Acropora abrolhosensis Acropora aculeus Acropora acuminata Acropora anthocercis Acropora aspera Acropora cerealis Acropora dendrum Acropora digitifera Acropora donei Acropora florida Acropora formosa Acropora glauca Acropora grandis Acropora granulosa Acropora horrida Acropora hyacinthus Acropora latistella Acropora lovelli Acropora microphthalma Acropora millepora Acropora nasuta Acropora nobilis Acropora pulchra Acropora robusta Acropora sarmentosa Acropora selago Acropora solitaryensis Acropora spicifera Acropora stoddarti Acropora subulata Acropora tenuis Acropora tortuosa Acropora valenciennesi Acropora valida Acropora vaughani Acropora verweyi Acropora willisae Acropora yongei Acropora Acropora Acropora is a genus of scleractinian coral in the Phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral and staghorn coral. There are currently 149 described species... sp. 1 Alveopora allingi Alveopora fenestrata Alveopora gigas Alveopora spongiosa Alveopora tizardi Alveopora verrilliana Astreopora explanata Astreopora gracilis Astreopora myriophthalma Astreopora ocellata Australomussa rowleyensis Barabattoia amicorum Blastomussa merleti Blastomussa wellsi Coscinaraea columna Coscinaraea exesa Coscinaraea marshae Cycloseris patelliformis Cyphastrea microphthalma Cyphastrea serailia Diaseris distorta

Diaseris fragilis Echinophyllia aspera Echinophyllia orpheensis Euphyllia cristata Euphyllia divisa Euphyllia divisa Euphyllia divisa, commonly known as frogspawn and sometimes mis-spelled Euphyllia divisia, is a large-polyped stony coral native to the Indo-Pacific islands, that is moderately popular in saltwater aquaria, for reef tanks... Euphyllia glabrescens Favia favus Favia laxa Favia lizardensis Favia matthaii Favia maxima Favia pallida Favia rotundata Favia verona Favites abdita Favites chinensis Favites complanata Favites flexuosa Favites halicora Favites pentagona Favites russelli Favites sp. 1 Fungea repanda Galaxea fascicularis Goniastrea aspera Goniastrea australensis Goniastrea edwardsi Goniastrea favulus Goniastrea palauensis Goniastrea pectinata Goniastrea sp. 1 Goniopora columna Goniopora djiboutiensis Goniopora pendulus Goniopora stokesi Goniopora stutchburyi Goniopora tenuidens Heteropsammia cochlea Hydnophora exesa Hydnophora pilosa Leptastrea pruinosa Leptastrea purpurea Leptoseris explanata Leptoseris foliosa Leptoseris hawaiiensis Leptoseris mycetoseroides Leptoseris scabra Lobophyllia corymbosa Lobophyllia hataii Lobophyllia hemprichii Merulina ampliata Montastrea curta Montastrea magnistellata Montastrea valenciennesi Montipora aequituberculata Montipora angulata Montipora australiensis Montipora caliculata Montipora capricornis Montipora crassituberculata Montipora danae Montipora digitata Montipora digitata Finger coral, Montipora digitata, is a species of stony coral. It is found in East Africa, the Indo-West Pacific, Kenya, Mozambique and Rodriguez....

Montipora efflorescens Montipora foliosa Montipora grisea Montipora hispida Montipora hoffmeisteri Montipora incrassata Montipora informis Montipora mollis Montipora nodosa Montipora peltiformis Montipora spongodes Montipora spumosa Montipora stellata Montipora turgescens Montipora turtlensis Montipora Montipora Montipora is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Depending on the species and location, Montipora may grow as plates or ridges, appearing to some as a bowl or flower. Undisturbed, the plates expand radially and may encrust over surrounding rocks, shells or debris... sp. 1 Montipora Montipora Montipora is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Depending on the species and location, Montipora may grow as plates or ridges, appearing to some as a bowl or flower. Undisturbed, the plates expand radially and may encrust over surrounding rocks, shells or debris... sp. 2 Montipora Montipora Montipora is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Depending on the species and location, Montipora may grow as plates or ridges, appearing to some as a bowl or flower. Undisturbed, the plates expand radially and may encrust over surrounding rocks, shells or debris... sp. 3 Moselaya latistellata Mycedium elephantotus Oxypora glabra Oxypora lacera Pachyseris speciosa Palauastrea ramosa Pavona decussata Pavona explanulata Pavona maldivensis Pavona minuta Pavona varians Platygyra daedalea Platygyra lamellina Plesiastrea versipora Pocillopora damicornis Pocillopora meandrina Pocillopora meandrina Pocillopora meandrina, common name cauliflower coral, is a species of coral occurring in the East Pacific and the Indo-West Pacific. This coral lives in shallow reef environments.-Description:... Pocillopora verrucosa Porites heronensis Porites lichen Porites lobata Porites lutea Porites solida Porites Porites Porites is a genus of scleractinian coral which is characterised by a finger-like morphology. Members of this genus have widely spaced calices, a well-developed wall reticulum and are bilaterally symmetrical... sp. 1 Porites Porites Porites is a genus of scleractinian coral which is characterised by a finger-like morphology. Members of this genus have widely spaced calices, a well-developed wall reticulum and are bilaterally symmetrical... sp. 2 Porites Porites Porites is a genus of scleractinian coral which is characterised by a finger-like morphology. Members of this genus have widely spaced calices, a well-developed wall reticulum and are bilaterally symmetrical... sp. 3 Psammocora contigua Psammocora digitata Psammocora explanulata Psammocora haimeana Psammocora profundacella Psammocora superficialis Scapophyllia cylindrica Stylocoeniella guentheri Symphyllia wilsoni Turbinaria bifrons Turbinaria conspicua Turbinaria frondens Turbinaria mesenterina Turbinaria peltata Turbinaria radiculis Turbinaria reniformis Turbinaria stellulata

Ahermatypic coral

In addition to the hermatypic corals, the Houtman Abrolhos contains ten species in eight genera of ahermatypic coral.