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Acropora humilis

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Colony and close-up of axial and radial corallites, Guam	65KB
Image:	Colony, axial & radial corallite skeletal detail, & branchlet detail	82KB
Image:	Colony, Guam	40KB
Image:	Colony, Guam	53KB
Image:	Colony, Guam	78KB
Image:	Colony, Cook Islands	87KB
Image:	Colony, Cook Islands	44KB

General Information

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group; ? N.Group; Marine, near-shore

KEY FEATURES: Small (30cmØ), cream/yellow, digitate (= finger-like) colony with an explanate (spread-out) base.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Acropora monticulosa has smaller axial corallites & radial corallites do not increase in size with distance from the branch tips (vs A.humilis has larger axial corallites & radial corallites increase in size with distance from the branch tips).

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
	P		P

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Acropora humilis (Dana, 1846)
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CNIDARIA (=Coelenterates); ANTHOZOA; ZOANTHARIA (=Hexacorallia); Scleractinia (=Madreporaria); ACROPORIDAE

More Information

IDENTIFICATION: COLONY small (30cmØ), bushy with a spread-out base, cream/yellow. Branchlets digitate (=finger-like). CORALLITES - axial - between 4 & 5mmØ. CaliceØ ~ 2.5mm. Radial - a mixture of big & small, 2-4mmØ, with nariform openings. SEPTA - 6 primary (3/4R) & 6 secondary(1/2R). COENOSTEUM - corallite walls costate (= ribbed appearance). Coenosteum more reticulate yet still costate with spinules (rod-like projections) more towards the base of branches. REPRODUCTION extratentacular.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
Special Reference: Veron, J.E.N. & Wallace, C.C. (1984). Scleractinia of Eastern Australia. Part V Family Acroporidae. Australian Institute of Marine Science Monograph Series 6. p . Wallace, C. (1999). Staghorn Corals of the World: A Key to Species of Acropora. CSIRO Publishing, Australia. CD-ROM.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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