species: Acropora florida in taxonomy (Gaia Guide)
Acropora florida


©Anne: Acropora florida at Lizard Island

©Anne: Close-up of Acropora florida colony in photo above

©David: Acropora florida, Bonsai Coral, Ocean Freedom, Upolu Reef
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Cnidaria
Class Anthozoa
Order Scleractinia
Family Acroporidae
Genus Acropora
Species Acropora florida
Status near threatened

Colours

    

Distinguishing features

Chunky colonies with thick branches and obvious round axial corallites. (Contributed by Zoe Richards)

Size

  • Size data has not been obtained.

Synonyms

Comments

Look at the coral branches as if they were buildings, each bump an apartment, the holes are windows. If you look closely you can recognise the architecture of different corals, the Florida Group have tightly packed thick and rounded windows (sometimes people’s tentacles are sticking out). They are said to look like Bonsai trees but they remind me of a Greek City in the Mediterranean.

by David Witherall

Distribution


©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution: Acropora florida

Web resources

References

  • 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.
  • Berumen, M.L. (2000). Influence of diet and habitat on the condition of butterflyfish, M.Sc. thesis, James Cook University. LIRS catalog number 719.
  • Berumen, M.L. (2006). Influence of resource availability on life-history traits in coral-feeding butterflyfishes (Pisces: Chaetodontidae), Ph.D. thesis, James Cook University, Australia. LIRS catalog number 987.
  • View all references