Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Acropora listeri (Acropora listeri), recorded as Endangered
Acropora listeri (Acropora listeri). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Acropora listeri

Acropora listeri

Acropora listeri is a staghorn coral in the family Acroporidae (order Scleractinia), recorded as Endangered.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Acropora listeri
CITES
Appendix II
Taxonomy
Anthozoa · Scleractinia · Acroporidae · Acropora

Appearance

The species is brown or cream in colour and there are no known similar species.

It occurs in either corymbose or clumped colonies and its branches are thick and non-uniform in shape and length.

It was described by Brook in 1893.

Range and habitat

It occurs in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the northern Indian Ocean, Australia, the central Indo-Pacific, Japan, southeast Asia, the East China Sea and the central and western Pacific Ocean. The species is found at depths of between 3 and 15 metres (9.8 and 49.2 ft) in exposed regions on the upper slopes of tropical shallow reefs. Acropora listeri is a acroporid coral found in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the northern Indian Ocean, Australia, the central Indo-Pacific, Japan, southeast Asia, the East China Sea and the central and western Pacific Ocean.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Diet

By day the polyps sit in sunlit water and feed the algae in their tissue; at night they can catch plankton. A colony does not walk. It lives or dies on that patch of reef.

A stony-coral colony is fixed. Growth, bleaching, and death happen in place. Collection and gear damage remove the skeleton as well as the tissue.

In crisis

CITES lists this taxon on Appendix II. Confirm the current appendix on the CITES checklist.

Branching acroporids are among the first corals to bleach in a marine heatwave and among the first to smash in a storm or under an anchor.

Acropora listeri is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Acropora listeri, Wikidata item Q3945314. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Same genus

Photograph of Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Elkhorn coral

Acropora palmata
Photograph of Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Staghorn coral

Acropora cervicornis
Photograph of Acropora aculeus (Acropora aculeus), recorded as EndangeredEN

Acropora aculeus

Acropora aculeus
Photograph of Acropora acuminata (Acropora acuminata), recorded as EndangeredEN

Acropora acuminata

Acropora acuminata

Quick answers

What is Acropora listeri?
Acropora listeri is a staghorn coral in the family Acroporidae (order Scleractinia).
What is the conservation status of Acropora listeri?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Acropora listeri. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Acropora listeri live?
It occurs in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the northern Indian Ocean, Australia, the central Indo-Pacific, Japan, southeast Asia, the East China Sea and the central and western Pacific Ocean.
Why is Acropora listeri in crisis?
Branching acroporids are among the first corals to bleach in a marine heatwave and among the first to smash in a storm or under an anchor.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Acropora listeri?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Acropora listeri a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.