Acropora sp. (Staghorn coral)

Identification

Staghorn coral comes in many shapes and forms. There are 315 species named to date. The general characteristic is that the colony is shaped like an antler (of a stag), leading to the name staghorn coral.

Status

Habitat

Acropora coral is found throughout tropical and subtropical waters around the world.

Reproduction

Reproduction takes place through coral spawning. Each coral species respons to certain lunar positions and water temperatures, by releasing their gametes.

Size

Prey / Predation

Zooxanthellae capture sunlight to transfer it into nutritional compounds for the coral animal.

Special features

Identification of Acropra coral, and coral in general, is very hard, and not always possible by visual inspection alone. Our aim is to identify corals to a taxonomic level where identification can be made with high certainty.