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Acropora cervicornis
| Description | The staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) is a branching, stony coral with cylindrical branches ranging from a few centimetres to over two metres in length and height. It occurs in back reef and fore reef environments from 0 to 30 m (0 to 98 ft) depth. The upper limit is defined by wave forces, and the lower limit is controlled by suspended sediments and light availability. Fore reef zones at intermediate depths 5–25 m (16–82 ft) were formerly dominated by extensive single-species stands of staghorn coral until the mid-1980s. This coral exhibits the fastest growth of all known western Atlantic fringe corals, with branches increasing in length by 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) per year. This has been one of the three most important Caribbean corals in terms of its contribution to reef growth and fishery habitat. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropora_cervicornis, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source Data |
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| Rank | species | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Cnidaria : Anthozoa : Scleractinia : Acroporidae : Acropora : Acropora cervicornis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Cnidaria : Anthozoa : Scleractinia : Acroporidae : Acropora : Acropora cervicornis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Generic Name | Acropora | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scientific Name | Acropora cervicornis (Lamarck, 1816) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name Published In | Lamarck, J.-B. M. de. (1816). Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres. Tome second. Paris: Verdière, 568 pp. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Extant Size (PBDB) | 1 (100%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 7.25 - 5.33 Ma Miocene | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Environment | marine (based on Scleractinia) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motility | stationary, attached (based on Scleractinia) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vision | blind (based on Anthozoa) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diet | photosymbiotic, suspension feeder (based on Acroporidae) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reproduction | alternating, asexual, dispersal=water,planktonic (based on Scleractinia) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taphonomy | aragonite (based on Scleractinia) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Reference (PBDB) | W. Kiessling. 2008. New opinions on coral taxonomy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common Name(s) | Staghorn Coral, Hirschgeweihkoralle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropora_cervicornis |
External Images
Fossil Distribution
Obsolete Names
| Name | Source | Taxon Rank | Taxonomy |
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| Acropora muricata cervicornis (Lamarck, 1816) | GBIF | variety | Animalia : Cnidaria : Anthozoa : Scleractinia : Acroporidae : Acropora : Acropora muricata cervicornis |
| Madrepora muricata cervicornis Lamarck, 1816 | GBIF | form | Animalia : Cnidaria : Anthozoa : Scleractinia : Acroporidae : Acropora : Madrepora muricata cervicornis |
| Madrepora attenuata Brook, 1893 | GBIF | species | Animalia : Cnidaria : Anthozoa : Scleractinia : Acroporidae : Acropora : Madrepora attenuata |
| Madrepora cervicornis Lamarck, 1816 | GBIF | species | Animalia : Cnidaria : Anthozoa : Scleractinia : Acroporidae : Acropora : Madrepora cervicornis |
| Isopora muricata cervicornis (Lamarck, 1816) | GBIF | form | Animalia : Cnidaria : Anthozoa : Scleractinia : Acroporidae : Acropora : Isopora muricata cervicornis |
| Acropora attenuata (Brook, 1893) | GBIF | species | Animalia : Cnidaria : Anthozoa : Scleractinia : Acroporidae : Acropora : Acropora attenuata |
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
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| 1816 | Madrepora cervicornis Lamarck |
| 2008 | Acropora cervicornis Kiessling |
References
Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!
Sarasota County, Florida, USA