Acropora striata
Verrill, 1866
This species shows wide geographic variation. Colonies from Japan are distinctive.
Description: Colonies consist of dense thickets of short cylindrical branches which may form extensive stands. Axial corallites are small. Radial corallites are irregular in size and shape; exsert corallites have prominent lower lips.
Color: Greyish-brown with white branch tips and white branch coenosteum. This colouration is only very distinctive in Japan.
Habitat: Shallow rocky foreshores or shallow reef flats.
Abundance: May be locally dominant in Japan, rare elsewhere.
Similar Species: Acropora tumida, which may have a similar growth-form but radial corallites are aligned along branches and do not have prominent lower lips. See also A. sekiseiensis and A. parahemprichii.
Taxonomic note: Colonies from Japan are distinctive. This species is divisible into several other semi-distinct taxonomic units. Source reference: Veron (2000). Taxonomic references: Veron (1992), Wallace (1999). Identification guide: Nishihira and Veron (1995).
Part of a monospecific stand 10 metres across. Bali, Indonesia Photograph: Charlie Veron
Branch tips. Bali, Indonesia Photograph: Charlie Veron
A compact thicket. Bali, Indonesia Photograph: Charlie Veron
Skeletal detail. Axial and radial corallites.