Acropora, Oken, 1815

Sola, Erwan, Silva, Isabel Marques da & Glassom, David, 2015, An annotated and illustrated checklist of species of the coral genus Acropora (Cnidaria: Scleractinia) from Vamizi Island, Mozambique, African Invertebrates 56 (3), pp. 807-807 : 820-821

Acropora divaricata (Dana, 1846)

Fig. 10

Colony growth form: Caespito-corymbose or corymbose; typical divergent branching pattern giving a dense network of highly interlocked branches; large tables may be over a meter across and have upturned branches at the margins.

Axial corallites: Outer diameter 2.2 mm; inner diameter 0.7 mm; conspicuous, slightly conical with small round opening and thick wall; primary and secondary septal cycles are well developed.

Radial corallites: Shape and size may vary a lot between and within colonies; tubular, appressed tubular to slightly nariform; usually aligned in rows.

Coenosteum: Densely arranged costae or usually rows of elaborated and laterally flattened spinules on corallites; reticulate with less densely arranged elaborated spinules which may be forked; spinules are less densely arranged in intercorallite area.

Remarks: A. divaricata is exceptionally plastic in its growth form ( Veron 2000), so this identification was based on the typical Y branching pattern and the characteristics of the coenosteum which fitted the description in Veron & Wallace (1984) and Wallace & Wolstenholme (1998).

Figures

Fig. 10. Acropora divaricata. Specimen number:VAM40. (A) live colony; (B) branch fragment; (C) radial corallites and (D) axial corallite; (E) coenosteum between corallites.