Acropora squarrosa (Ehrenberg, 1834)

Wallace, Carden C., Done, Barbara J. & Muir, Paul R., 2012, Revision and catalogue of worldwide staghorn corals Acropora and Isopora (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) in the Museum of Tropical Queensland, Memoirs of the Queensland Museu Nature 57, pp. 1-258 : 196

Acropora squarrosa (Ehrenberg, 1834)

( Fig. 96 )

Heteropora squarrosa Ehrenberg, 1834: 112

Acropora maryae Veron, 2000 , vol. 1: 392; 2002: 60–62, figs 117–122.

Type locality. Red Sea (holotype MNB).

MTQ Holdings. Red Sea: G54477; G55785 HOLOTYPE of A. maryae ; G57787 Egypt; G54843–45, G55186, G55269, G57048, G58876, G58877 Saudi Arabia.

Species group: loripes.

Description. Colony outline: determinate, predominantly corymbose. Branches: tertiary branching order absent; length: 25–50 mm; diameter: 5.0–9.9 mm, 50/50 axial/radial, terete; radial crowding: not touching; axial/radial ratio: <1:10. Axial corallites: two synapticular rings; not porous; outer diameter 2.2–4.2 mm; inner diameter 0.4–0.8 mm; primary septa to 2/3 R. Radial corallites: medium; two synapticular rings; one size or graded; inner wall developed; shape: appressed tubular; openings: oval-round- ed; primary septa to ¼ R. Coenosteum: same on and between radials: dense spinules; spinule shape: elaborate.

Taxonomic note. Acropora maryae is placed in synonymy with A. squarrosa because the holotype G55785 falls within the range of variation of characters of speciments in this collection, which have been compared with the Ehrenberg type of A. squarrosa.

Further literature: Sheppard & Sheppard (1991), Wallace (1999), Veron (2000), Veron (2002).

Figures

FIG. 96. Acropora squarrosa, Red Sea (photo: E. Turak). Map of documented distribution: blue squares = MTQ specimens; pink squares = literature records; orange diamonds = type localities (where given), including primary synonyms.