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

Endangered

Montipora aequituberculata

Montipora aequituberculata

Montipora aequituberculata is a pore coral in the family Acroporidae (order Scleractinia), recorded as Endangered.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Montipora aequituberculata
CITES
Appendix II
Taxonomy
Anthozoa · Scleractinia · Acroporidae · Montipora

Range and habitat

Montipora aequituberculata is native to the Indo-Pacific region. Its range extends from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, through the Indian Ocean to Japan, the East China Sea, Australia and the west and central Pacific. It is found on the upper parts of reef slopes where it may be the most predominant species.

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.

Montipora aequituberculata 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 Montipora aequituberculata, Wikidata item Q3948209. 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 Montipora patula (Montipora patula), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Montipora patula

Montipora patula
Photograph of Leaf plate montipora (Montipora capricornis), recorded as EndangeredEN

Leaf plate montipora

Montipora capricornis
Photograph of Montipora altasepta (Montipora altasepta), recorded as EndangeredEN

Montipora altasepta

Montipora altasepta
Photograph of Montipora caliculata (Montipora caliculata), recorded as EndangeredEN

Montipora caliculata

Montipora caliculata

Quick answers

What is Montipora aequituberculata?
Montipora aequituberculata is a pore coral in the family Acroporidae (order Scleractinia).
What is the conservation status of Montipora aequituberculata?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Montipora aequituberculata. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Montipora aequituberculata live?
Its range extends from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, through the Indian Ocean to Japan, the East China Sea, Australia and the west and central Pacific.
Why is Montipora aequituberculata 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 Montipora aequituberculata?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Montipora aequituberculata a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.