// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did Acropora tenella go to the party? It was a coral-ful dancer.

Acropora tenella
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Cnidaria
Subphylum:	Anthozoa
Class:	Hexacorallia
Order:	Scleractinia
Family:	Acroporidae
Genus:	Acropora
Species:	A. tenella
Binomial name
Acropora tenella (Brook, 1892)
Synonyms
Acropora eibli Pillai & Scheer, 1976 Madrepora tenella Brook, 1892

Acropora tenella is a species of acroporid coral found in the central Indo-Pacific, southeast Asia, Japan, the East China Sea and the oceanic western Pacific Ocean. It occurs on lower slopes of reefs at depths of 25 to 70 metres (82 to 230 ft).

Taxonomy

It was described by Brook in 1892 as Madrepora tenella. It is also known under its synonym of Acropora eibli, which it was described under by Pillai and Scheer in 1976.

Description

It occurs in colonies with plate-like structures arranged horizontally. Its branches are flattened and often diverge; they often contain broad central ridges. Its axial corallites are distinct; it has radial corallites that are distinct and are laterally present on some older branches but are generally placed irregularly over the branches. The coral is cream in colour and its branches have either blue or white ends.

Distribution

It occurs in the central Indo-Pacific, southeast Asia, Japan, the East China Sea and the oceanic western Pacific Ocean. The species is found at depths of between 25 and 70 metres (82 and 230 ft) on the lower slopes of reefs.