Acropora coral (no English common name)
Acropora natalensis
Valid name (WoRMS, AphiaID 207051, checked 2026-10-31).
Possibly present in the Maldives
- English
- Acropora coral (no English common name)
- Scientific
- Acropora natalensis
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Hard corals
- Depth and habitat
- Reef-associated
- IUCN status
- NE · Not EvaluatedNot Evaluated (NE)CITES Appendix II
- Record in the Maldives
- Possibly present
Description
An Acropora coral: the largest and most varied genus of reef-building corals, forming branches, bushes, tables, plates and fingers. Each branch ends in a single larger cup with many small cups along its sides. Acropora grow fast and are among the first corals to die in marine heatwaves. It is told apart from related species only by close examination of the skeleton.
In the Maldives
Recorded from the Maldives: SeaLifeBase Maldives checklist. Only one kind of evidence was found, so it is listed as possibly present.
Sources
- sealifebase.se /summary/Acropora-natalensis.html
- marinespecies.org /aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=207051
Dhivehi name source: No species-level Dhivehi name found in Dhivehi Wikipedia, SeaLifeBase (country: Maldives) or MRS/MMRI invertebrate publications.