Acropora abrotanoides (Lamarck, 1816)

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 : 8

Acropora abrotanoides (Lamarck, 1816)

( Fig. 2 )

Madrepora abrotanoides Lamarck, 1816: 280 .

Madrepora crassa Milne Edwards & Haime, 1860: 135 . Madrepora deformis Dana, 1846 (non Michelin): 484, pl. 43 fig. 1.

Madrepora danai Milne Edwards & Haime, 1860: 560 .

Madrepora irregularis Brook, 1892: 458 ; 1893: 50, pl. 14 figs E–F.

Madrepora rotumana Gardiner, 1898: 258 , pl. 23 fig. 2.

Acropora mangarevensis Vaughan, 1906: 68 , pl. 6 fig. 2, pl. 8 fig. 1.

Acropora tutuilensis Hoffmeister, 1925: 71 , pl. 19 figs 1 a–c.

Type locality. Indian Ocean (holotype MNHN).

MTQ Holdings. Red Sea: G55258 Saudi Arabia; G54947 Yemen; Kenya: G35555, G35579–81; Mayotte: G63293, G63295–97, G63376–77; Seychelles: G47914–16, G49220, G51848, G59478, G59493; La R é union: G33223, G54780; Mauritius: G39781, G51829, G51871, G54468, G54902; Rodriguez: G33221–22; Maldives: G52065–66, G53017, G59784–87, G59930–33; Sri Lanka: G55226, G55771, G56336, G56362–65; Thailand: G55908, G56037; Indonesia: G48470 Sumatra; G59206 Java; G46694, G49353 Bali; G48473–75 Alor; G49871 Riau; G46983 Ambon; G48469, G48471–72 Flores; G49350– 51 Kalimantan; G47451–57, G49352, G50373 Sulawesi; G51716–17, G51721–24 Molucca Sea; G51718–20, G52406 Halmahera; G46974–82, G47450 Banda Sea; G60754 Irian Jaya; Australia: G40784, G40843, G40867, G48725 West; G27687, G28845, G28957, G29049, G30115–17, G30407–8, G30410, G30412–13, G30416, G30419, G30497, G30502–03, G30506, G30509, G30970, G30972, G30976, G30980–82, G30986–87, G30994–95, G30997–99, G31003, G31005–6, G31015, G31019–21, G31023–24, G31026–29, G31032–36, G34137, G34139, G34141, G34193, G35790, G35792, G58355 Great Barrier Reef; G30971, G30973, G30975, G30977–79, G30984, G30988–89, G31014, G31018, G31022, G31025, G31030–31, G47071, G58494, G58499, G60395, G60398, G60402, G60408, G60410–11, G60417, G60457–67, G62804, G62806, G62825, G62958, G64989–90 South- East; G30415, G30495, G30500, G30505, G30996, G35789, G35791, G35793, G60555 Coral Sea; South China Sea: G46831–33, G52134–40; Japan: G47792; Taiwan: G45810; Philippines: G45864; Palau: G56640, G60205; Guam: G36604, G41174, G53636; Papua New Guinea: G35680, G35904, G52791–94; Louisiade Archipelago: G35362–63; Micronesia: G36617 Chuuk; G40773 Yap; G41239, G59298, G62355–64, G62813–14 Pohnpei; G41081–83, G62725, G62772–75, Kosrae; Solomon Is.: G52594; New Caledonia: G40889, G58742, G59176, G61012; Chesterfield Atoll: G30409, G30411, G30414, G30496, G30498–99, G30501, G30504, G30507–08, G31000–0 2, G31004, G35691; Marshall Is.: G33136, G37480, G37968–71, G37974–76; Kiribati: G51220–21, G54817, G55005; Samoa: G33316, G34716, G38978, G38987–88, G41289, G43489, G43493, G54263; Niue: G54673–77; Cook Is.: G35716, G35930, G35932, G36088–89 Tuamotu Archipelago: G32865; Austral Is.: G35841, G35843; Pitcairn Is.: G54602–03, G54638–39.

Species group: robusta .

Description. Colony outline: determinate, predominantly arborescent-table. Branches: tertiary branching order absent; length: 5 0–100 mm; diameter:>19.9 mm, axial-dominated, tapering; radial crowding: some touching; axial/radial ratio:>1:10. Axial corallites: two synapticular rings; porous; outer diameter 2.0–2.5 mm; inner diameter 0.7–1.2 mm; primary septa to 2/3 R. Radial corallites: large; two synapticular rings; two sizes; inner wall developed; shape: tubular; openings: dimidiate; primary septa to 1/3 R. Coenosteum: different on and between radials: between radials: reticulate, on radials: costate; spinule shape: single point.

Taxonomic note. It is possible that Acropora rotumana may be taken out of synonymy with A. abrotanoides , following the finding of ‘populations’ of a colony form, dubbed the ‘Pacific elkhorn’, in Arno Atoll in the Marshall Islands (Richards et al. 2010). This form, identified from its colony structure as probably a more mature form of A. rotumana than that exhibited by the holotype, showed some separation from other forms of A. abrotanoides in genetic analyses using nuclear (Pax-C) and mitochondrial (rnscox3) gene regions. The authors considered that additional material from the type locality should be compared with the Arno Atoll material before any taxonomic decision is made.

Further literature. Sheppard & Sheppard (1991), Nishihira & Veron (1995), Wallace & Wolstenholme (1998), Wallace (1999), Veron (2000), Pillay et al. (2002), Wallace & Muir (2007), Dai & Horng (2009), Turak & DeVantier (2011).

Figures

FIG. 2. Acropora abrotanoides, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 2007 (photo: P. Muir). Map of documented distribution: blue squares = MTQ specimens; pink squares = literature records; orange diamonds = type localities (where given), including primary synonyms.