Acropora awi
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| Acropora awi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Subphylum: | Anthozoa |
| Class: | Hexacorallia |
| Order: | Scleractinia |
| Family: | Acroporidae |
| Genus: | Acropora |
| Species: | A. awi |
| Binomial name | |
| Acropora awi Wallace & Wolstenholme, 1998 | |
Acropora awi is a species of acroporid coral that was described by Wallace and Wolstenholme in 1998. Found in fringing reefs, the slopes of shallow reefs, and sandy slopes, it occurs in a marine environment. The species is rated as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with a decreasing population, and is easily damaged. It can be found over a large area but is not abundant.
Acropora awi is found in colonies with a structure resembling bottlebrush shrubs, leading to many branches occurring in dense areas, but are mostly obvious and long.[2] The species can be grey-brown or pink-brown in colour, and the branches are tightly packed.[2][3] The axial corallites (on top of the branches) are long and fuse with some radial corallites (on the side of branches). However, there are some smaller radial corallites, which are described as being "pocket-shaped"[2] with diameters of below 1mm.[2][3] The species is similar to Acropora echinata and Acropora navini,[2] and is found in fringing reefs, the slopes of shallow reefs, and sandy slopes.[1] It grows to a size of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in).[3]