Acropora subglabra
Brook, 1891
Description: Colonies form thickets of intertwining bottlebrush branches, usually with only the distal 200 millimetres being alive. Branches divide irregularly and at frequent intervals to give a bushy colony shape. Axial and incipient axial corallites are tubular and tapered. Radial corallites are short and appressed.
Color: Pale brown, often with yellow branchlet tips.
Habitat: Usually restricted to protected back reefs with clear water and soft substrates.
Abundance: Sometimes common.
Similar Species: Acropora echinata and A. carduus. Usually found with A. echinata, which has much longer axial corallites.
Source reference: Veron (2000). Taxonomic references: Veron and Wallace (1984), Wallace (1999). Identification guides: Veron (1986), Nishihira and Veron (1995).
Compact thickets. Ryukyu Islands, Japan Photograph: Charlie Veron
Branch detail. Calamian Islands, Philippines Photograph: Charlie Veron
Skeletal detail. Axial, incipient axial and radial corallites.
Colony surface. Flores, Indonesia Photograph: Charlie Veron