Acropora vaughani
A turbid-water acroporid coral described by J. W. Wells in 1954.
Last updated
Paul Muir · via Wikipedia: Acropora vaughani · CC BY 4.0
Acropora vaughani is a species of stony coral in the family Acroporidae, order Scleractinia.[1] J. W. Wells originally described this species in 1954.[2]
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumCnidaria
- SubphylumAnthozoa
- ClassHexacorallia
- OrderScleractinia
- FamilyAcroporidae
- GenusAcropora
- SpeciesAcropora vaughani
Named by Wells, 1954
Close relatives
Other species of Acropora with a Codexery entry.
- Acropora abrotanoides Acropora abrotanoides
- Acropora aculeus Acropora aculeus
- Acropora acuminata Acropora acuminata
- Acropora arabensis Acropora arabensis
- Acropora aspera Acropora aspera
- Acropora awi Acropora awi
- Acropora batunai Acropora batunai
- Acropora caroliniana Acropora caroliniana
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Acropora vaughani (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 288262 (CC BY 4.0)
Conservation status
Endangered (EN)
- LC
- NT
- VU
- EN▲ this species
- CR
- EW
- EX
Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category
Where the acropora vaughani has been recorded
Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (631 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 13 inland records left out (institution coordinates).
Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)
Quick Facts
- Described by
- J. W. Wells
- Year described
- 1954
- Habitat
- tropical shallow reefs around fringing reefs in turbid water
- Iucn status
- endangered
- Colour variants
- cream
- pale blue
- or brown
Facts from the source article.
Biology and range
Its colour can be cream, pale blue, or brown.[3] Its population is believed to be decreasing, threatened by coral reef reduction, temperature rise causing bleaching, climate change, human activity, the crown-of-thorns starfish, and disease.[4] Short branchlets give the open branched colonies a bush-like appearance.[3] In terms of appearance, Acropora vaughani resembles Acropora rufus.[3]
What the specialist sources record
The World Register of Marine Species records Acropora vaughani as an accepted species in the marine environment.[1] GBIF lists the species as accepted in the kingdom Animalia, phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, order Scleractinia, family Acroporidae.[5] GBIF holds 778 occurrence records for this taxon as of 7 October 2026.[5]
References
- World Register of Marine Species, Acropora vaughani (AphiaID 288262). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
- Wikipedia, "Acropora vaughani" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Acropora vaughani", World Register of Marine Species (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Acropora vaughani" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Acropora vaughani", Australian Institute of Marine Species (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Acropora vaughani" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Richards, Z.T., "Acropora vaughani", 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Acropora vaughani (taxon key 5184582). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Acropora vaughani (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Acropora Corals
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Acropora vaughani (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Classification: the source article's taxobox; order, family and genus checked against WoRMS, the World Register of Marine Species (CC BY 4.0).
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List assessment.
- Occurrence records: GBIF (CC0 / CC BY). Basemap: Natural Earth (public domain).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced