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

Endangered

Ctenactis albitentaculata

Ctenactis albitentaculata

Ctenactis albitentaculata is a stony coral in the family Fungiidae (order Scleractinia), recorded as Endangered and tied to Australia, Indonesia, and Fiji.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Ctenactis albitentaculata
CITES
Appendix II
Taxonomy
Anthozoa · Scleractinia · Fungiidae · Ctenactis

The stony coral

It was first described by Bert W.

Stony corals secrete a hard calcium-carbonate skeleton. A named ‘species’ on a reef is a colony of polyps, often hosting zooxanthellae that need sunlit, relatively clear water.

Anthozoans are corals and anemones: sessile polyps, often colonial, without a medusa stage. The photograph is the living colony.

Range and habitat

Ctenactis albitentaculata is recorded from Australia, Indonesia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Philippines.

GBIF currently lists 361 occurrence points. Those points follow where people logged the taxon — museum drawers and surveys included — not a closed range boundary.

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

Habits

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.

The colony stays where it settled. Water quality, light, and a stable bottom decide whether tissue remains on the skeleton.

In crisis

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

Warm-water bleaching, sedimentation, destructive fishing, and the curio trade sit behind many stony-coral badges. That is the group backdrop — confirm the official criteria for this name on the Red List.

Ctenactis albitentaculata 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 Cebuano Wikipedia article on Ctenactis albitentaculata, translated and retold in English, plus Wikidata item Q3946530 and GBIF occurrence geography. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Confirm status and range on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

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Axolotl

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Quick answers

What is Ctenactis albitentaculata?
Una ning gihulagway ni Bert W is a coral.
What is the conservation status of Ctenactis albitentaculata?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Ctenactis albitentaculata. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Ctenactis albitentaculata live?
Una ning gihulagway ni Bert W is a coral.
Why is Ctenactis albitentaculata in crisis?
Warm-water bleaching, sedimentation, destructive fishing, and the curio trade sit behind many stony-coral badges. That is the group backdrop — confirm the official criteria for this name on the Red List.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Ctenactis albitentaculata?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Ctenactis albitentaculata a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.