Acropora microclados "Strawberry Shortcake"
Acropora microclados is now a doubtful name: the 2025 revision declares it impossible to link to a specific species, and WoRMS has adopted this status. 1 2 For this reason the species sheet gives no data on range, depth or biology: those published so far may refer to different corals. 2
At a glance
Data from the scientific sources listed at the bottom.
Conservation
IUCN Red List: endangered (2023). CITES: Appendix II. The category and criterion A3ce are still recorded under this name, but they predate the 2025 revision that made it doubtful. 1 2 For international trade the name remains on the CITES lists, with a listing in force since 18 January 1990; in the European Union it is in Annex B. 3
The coral
Group: SPS
In the aquarium
From the experience of the BallingMania community.
Acropora microclados strawberry shortcake can be found within the Australian Great Barrier Reef. To bring out the beautiful shades of this coral and keep it from losing its colour, it is important to keep the level of pollutants in the aquarium (PO4 and NO3) very low; it should be placed in the middle-to-upper part of the rockwork, in a spot with strong lighting and intense water movement.
photo by: Matteo De Benedictis
Did you know?
Sources
- Hoeksema B.W., Cairns S., Samimi-Namin K. (2026). Acropora microclados (Ehrenberg, 1834). World List of Scleractinia, via WoRMS.
- Rassmussen S.H., Cowman P.F., Baird A.H. et al. (2025). The tables have turned: taxonomy, systematics and biogeography of the Acropora hyacinthus (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) complex. Invertebrate Systematics.
- UNEP-WCMC (2026). Acropora microclados, CITES listings and distribution. Species+.
- Wallace C.C., Done B.J., Muir P.R. (2012). Revision and catalogue of worldwide staghorn corals Acropora and Isopora (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) in the Museum of Tropical Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum - Nature.
Sources checked on 5 November 2026. Community texts and ratings are kept separate from the scientific data.