Kingdom Animalia Class Anthozoa Family Acroporidae Rank Species | Phylum Cnidaria Order Scleractinia Genus Acropora | |
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Acropora bifurcata is a species of acroporid coral found from the Indian Ocean, the Indo-Pacific waters, southeast Asia, Japan, the East China Sea and the west Pacific Ocean. It lives on shallow reefs on upper reef slopes, and is found from depths of 1–25 m. Crown-of-thorns starfish preferentially prey upon Acropora corals. It may be synonymous with A. hyacinthus. It was described by Nemenzo in 1971.
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Description
It occurs in plate- or table-shaped wide colonies that consist of a number of thin branches in a lattice structure. It has strongly inclined branchlets. This pale species contains incipient axial and axial corallites that cannot be distinguished, and its branchlets contain cup-shaped radial corallites. All corallites on Acropora bifurcata specimens are darker than the main branch structure. The species looks similar to Acropora cytherea and Acropora hyacinthus.
Distribution
It is classed as a data deficient species on the IUCN Red List, but it is believed that its population is decreasing in line with the global decline in reefs, and it is listed under Appendix II of CITES. Figures of its population are unknown, but is likely to be threatened by the global reduction of coral reefs, the increase of temperature causing coral bleaching, climate change, human activity, the crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) and disease. It occurs at depths from 1 to 25 metres (3 ft 3 in to 82 ft 0 in) on the upper slopes of shallow reefs. It occurs in the Indian Ocean, the Indo-Pacific waters, southeast Asia, Japan, the East China Sea, Australia, and the western Pacific Ocean.
Taxonomy
The species was described by Nemenzo in 1971 as Acropora bifurcata.