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

Endangered

Acropora pulchra

Acropora pulchra

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

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

Appearance

The colour of this coral varies from blue to various shades of brown, often with pale blue tips to the branches.

The branches are up to 12 mm (0.5 in) in diameter and up to 18 cm (7 in) long.

Range and habitat

Acropora pulchra is found in the western Indo-Pacific region, its range extending from the Gulf of Aden to Southeast Asia, Japan, the East China Sea and Australia. It chiefly grows at depths that range from 1 to 20 metres (3 ft 3 in to 65 ft 7 in) on back reef fringes and flats and in reef lagoons, often growing among the closely related coral species Acropora aspera. It is found on the back fringes of reefs in shallow water in the western Indo-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 pulchra 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 pulchra, Wikidata item Q4666951. 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 pulchra?
Acropora pulchra is a staghorn coral in the family Acroporidae (order Scleractinia).
What is the conservation status of Acropora pulchra?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Acropora pulchra. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Acropora pulchra live?
Acropora pulchra is found in the western Indo-Pacific region, its range extending from the Gulf of Aden to Southeast Asia, Japan, the East China Sea and Australia.
Why is Acropora pulchra 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 pulchra?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Acropora pulchra a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.