Acropora spathulata
A hard coral with corymbose colonies, that is low with short, dense branches, from the shallow, clear waters of the western Pacific. 3 4 5 It has been studied mainly on the Great Barrier Reef, for its reproduction and for the heat tolerance of its juveniles. 6 7
At a glance
Data from the scientific sources listed at the bottom.
Depth in the wild
1–10 m
Conservation
IUCN Red List: endangered (2023). CITES: Appendix II. The listed criterion is A3ce. 4 The CITES listing in force dates from 18 January 1990 and applies to all Scleractinia; in the European Union it is in Annex B. 2 The category is also confirmed by GBIF and WoRMS. 1 8 In 2014 no colonies of breeding size were found at southern Turtle Island, where they had been present in 2013. 6
The coral
Group: SPS
Growth form: corymbose, with a defined outline
Zooxanthellae: yes
Growth: I found no measurements from the wild. In the laboratory juveniles grew about twice as much at 27.5 °C as at 31 °C (about 0.7 versus 0.3 mm²). 7
Where it lives
Australia (Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea), Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Indonesia, New Caledonia and Fiji. 2 3 The type locality is Treasury Island, in the Solomon Islands. 3
How to recognise it
Tap a number on the photo: the key explains what to look for.
Life in the wild
Where it is found
Reefs in clear water, especially back-reef areas and reef flats. 4 The 1-10 m range comes from SeaLifeBase; other data give 0-10 m (Carpenter et al., 2008) and down to 11 m (Muir et al., 2015). 4 5 In the study on the northern Great Barrier Reef the colonies were collected at less than 4 m, on the sheltered side of the reefs. 6
Reproduction
A hermaphrodite that releases its gametes into the sea (Wallace, 1994). 5 On the northern Great Barrier Reef the most frequent number of eggs is 6 per polyp; 79% of polyps had 4-6. 6 Between 2013 and 2014 fecundity fell in all zones, for example from 6.52 to 5.10 eggs per polyp on inshore reefs, coinciding with Cyclone Ita. 6 Colonies with mature eggs were collected between 20 November and 5 December 2017. 7
In the aquarium
From the experience of the BallingMania community.
Acropora spathulata can be found within the Australian Great Barrier Reef. It is an Acropora with beautiful colours, but it needs excellent water parameters, stable calcium, alkalinity and magnesium and pollutants close to zero, otherwise it tends to lose its beautiful colours, which range from blue to yellow to pink. A coral with tabular growth, it should be placed high on the rockwork; it needs plenty of light and strong water movement, ideally alternating.
photo by: Matteo De Benedictis (top) and Giuseppe Rogliano (bottom)
Did you know?
Sources
- Hoeksema B.W., Cairns S., Samimi-Namin K. (2026). Acropora spathulata (Brook, 1891). World List of Scleractinia, via WoRMS.
- UNEP-WCMC (2026). Acropora spathulata, CITES listings and distribution. Species+.
- Wallace C.C., Done B.J., Muir P.R. (2012). Acropora spathulata (Brook, 1891), in: 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 spathulata. SeaLifeBase.
- Madin J. et al. (eds.) (2026). Acropora spathulata: data from Wallace 2012, Carpenter 2008, Muir 2015, Wallace 1994. Coral Trait Database.
- Pratchett M.S., Hoey A.S., Tan C.-H., Kuo C.-Y., Bauman A.G., Kumaraswamy R., Baird A.H. (2019). Spatial and Temporal Variation in Fecundity of Acropora spp. in the Northern Great Barrier Reef. Diversity.
- Quigley K.M., Randall C.J., van Oppen M.J.H., Bay L.K. (2020). Assessing the role of historical temperature regime and algal symbionts on the heat tolerance of coral juveniles. Biology Open.
- GBIF Secretariat (2026). Acropora spathulata, IUCN Red List category. GBIF.
Sources checked on 5 November 2026. Community texts and ratings are kept separate from the scientific data.