Acropora palmata

Super Group: 
Eukaryota
Phylum: 
Cnidaria
Class: 
Anthozoa
Order: 
Scleractinia
Family: 
Acroporidae
Genus: 
Acropora
Species: 
palmata
Authority: 
Lamarck 1816

Diagnosis

Large specimens are at least two meters high and four meters in diameter. Colonies are flattened to near round with frond-like branches. Branches typically radiate outward from a central trunk that is firmly attached to the sea floor. Corallites are tube-like and porous, 2 to 4 mm long, about 2 mm in diameter, white near the growing tip, and brown to tan away from the growing area. The axial and radial corallites are usually not distinctly different. The skeletal area between the corallites is rough-irregular and the tube-like corallites project upward. Colonies begin from a settled larvae or a fragment; settled larvae are undifferentiated and lack branching. As they grow, protuberances develop to generate the main column and radial branches. Polyps are creamy-white and inconspicuous tentacles protrude from the corallites. 

Etymology

 The literal translation of palmata is: related to a palm branch. 

Observation site(s)

SYMBIONTS

Displaying 1 - 9 of 9
Association with... Region origin Name of site In reference...
Symbiodinium sp. Florida
Symbiodinium sp. Eastern Caribbean
Symbiodinium sp. Western Caribbean
Symbiodinium sp. Western Caribbean
Symbiodinium sp. Quintana Roo
Symbiodinium sp. Exuma Islands
Symbiodinium sp. Western Atlantic
LaJeunesse TC, Loh W, Trench RK (2009) Do introduced endosymbiotic dinoflagellates ‘take’ to new hosts?. Biological Invasions 11:995 - 1003. doi: 10.1007/s10530-008-9311-5
Symbiodinium sp. Exuma Islands
Serratia marcescens