New species and a new species-group of the coral genus Acropora (Scleractina : Astrocoeniina : Acroporidae) from Indo-Pacific locations

Abstract

Eleven new species of the circum-tropical coral genus Acropora (Scleractinia : Astrocoeniina : Acroporidae) are described from material collected during a study of the biogeography of the genus worldwide. Previously known Indo-Pacific species of this genus mostly have broad distributions. The newly described species have been overlooked because they have more restricted distributions and in some cases they occur in deeper, rarely sampled, habitats; they thus contribute new information for assessment of the ecology and distribution patterns of the genus. Seven of the new species have low numbers of radial corallites relative to axial corallite number, a phenomenon uncommon amongst well-known (and widely distributed) species. It is suggested that this character would result in low reproductive output and may be responsible for the limited range of the species concerned. The new species are assigned to existing species-groups and a new species-group is suggested to accommodate two new species and three other valid species.