Acropora microphthalma
A hard coral of the genus Acropora, described in 1869 from a specimen from the Ryukyu Islands, in Japan. 1 2 It forms bushy, tree-like colonies with long, cylindrical branches. 2 It lives from the Red Sea to the central Pacific, usually between 5 and 25 m deep. 2 5 6
At a glance
Data from the scientific sources listed at the bottom.
Depth in the wild
5–25 m
Conservation
IUCN Red List: endangered (2023). CITES: Appendix II. The listed criterion is A3ce. 3 The CITES listing currently in force dates back to 18 January 1990; in the European Union it is in Annex B. 4
The coral
Group: SPS
Growth form: tree-like (arborescent) with an undefined outline, with branches more than 100 mm long and 10-20 mm thick 2
Zooxanthellae: yes
Where it lives
WoRMS records it from, among other places, Kenya, Mozambique, the Ryukyu Islands, the Marshall Islands and Australia. 1 The Queensland reference collection holds specimens from the Red Sea (Yemen), Socotra, Kenya, the Comoros, Mayotte, the Seychelles, Mauritius, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, the South China Sea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Fiji. 2 Species+ adds French Polynesia and Pitcairn. 4 A study on ranges gives extreme latitudes of about 31° N and 35° S. 5 8
How to recognise it
Tap a number on the photo: the key explains what to look for.
Life in the wild
What it eats
It hosts symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae), which it can lose when the light is excessive. 11
In the aquarium
From the experience of the BallingMania community.
It belongs to the family Acroporidae. Its colour usually ranges from brown to dark green; the tips are cream with a light blue end. Place of origin: the south-western and northern Indian Ocean; it is commonly found in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the south-western and northern Indian Ocean, the central Indo-Pacific, Australia, South-East Asia, Japan, the East China Sea and the western and central Pacific Ocean. This coral lives on the upper slopes of the coral reef at a depth of 5-25 m, in turbid water and sandy lagoons. If it is not held back by other, more stinging corals, it can be the dominant species in shallow water. In the wild colonies often exceed 2 metres in diameter and can form extensive forests of this single species. It has arborescent growth; the branches are thin and straight, up to five centimetres in diameter, with branches 60-70 cm long. The colonies are characterised by widely spaced, elongated radial corallites; the tips tend to taper and curve upwards to catch light from the surface.
In the aquarium, given its very fast and impressive growth, it is advisable to place it in the middle-to-lower part, in a position where it can receive good lighting. It appreciates strong, alternating water movement.
Water conditions must be very good, with stable chemical values and a low organic and inorganic load. It is vulnerable to attack by pests and does not tolerate high temperatures well. An easy coral to keep, advisable for not very experienced aquarists.
Species sheet by Massimo Ramognino and photo by Andrea Del Genio
Did you know?
Sources
- Hoeksema B.W., Cairns S., Samimi-Namin K. (2026). Acropora microphthalma (Verrill, 1869). World List of Scleractinia, via WoRMS.
- 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.
- Palomares M.L.D., Pauly D. (eds.) (2026). Acropora microphthalma. SeaLifeBase.
- UNEP-WCMC (2026). Acropora microphthalma, CITES listings and distribution. Species+.
- Madin J. et al. (eds.) (2026). Acropora microphthalma. Coral Trait Database.
- Carpenter K.E., Abrar M., Aeby G. et al. (2008). One-Third of Reef-Building Corals Face Elevated Extinction Risk from Climate Change and Local Impacts. Science, reference in the Coral Trait Database.
- Muir P., Wallace C., Bridge T.C.L., Bongaerts P. (2015). Diverse Staghorn Coral Fauna on the Mesophotic Reefs of North-East Australia. PLOS ONE.
- Hughes T.P., Connolly S.R., Keith S.A. (2013). Geographic ranges of reef corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Scleractinia) in the Indo-Pacific. Ecology, reference in the Coral Trait Database.
- Harrison P.L., Babcock R.C., Bull G.D. et al. (1984). Mass Spawning in Tropical Reef Corals. Science, reference in the Coral Trait Database.
- Darling E.S., Alvarez-Filip L., Oliver T.A., McClanahan T.R., Côté I.M. (2012). Evaluating life-history strategies of reef corals from species traits. Ecology Letters, reference in the Coral Trait Database.
- Starcevic A., Dunlap W.C., Cullum J., Shick J.M., Hranueli D., Long P.F. (2010). Gene Expression in the Scleractinian Acropora microphthalma Exposed to High Solar Irradiance Reveals Elements of Photoprotection and Coral Bleaching. PLoS ONE.
- Shinzato C., Khalturin K., Inoue J. et al. (2021). Eighteen Coral Genomes Reveal the Evolutionary Origin of Acropora Strategies to Accommodate Environmental Changes. Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Sources checked on 5 November 2026. Community texts and ratings are kept separate from the scientific data.
