| Montipora capitata | |
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| Montipora capitata overgrowing Porites compressa | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Hexacorallia |
| Order: | Scleractinia |
| Family: | Acroporidae |
| Genus: | Montipora |
| Species: | M. capitata |
| Binomial name | |
| Montipora capitata | |
| Synonyms | |
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Montipora capitata, commonly known as rice coral or pore coral, is a stony coral in the family Acroporidae. It is a reef building species and is found in tropical parts of the Pacific Ocean.
Montipora capitata is an encrusting, colonial coral which develops arborescent forms as it matures. The corallites are tiny and well separated by coenosteum. Their walls and the septa are indistinct. The skeleton is porous and there are small smooth surface projections known as verrucae which give the coral its common name of rice coral. These are irregularly spaced and may be fused near the tips of branches. The colour is normally pale brown with white verrucae. [3] [4]
Montipora capitata is found in the tropical north and central Pacific Ocean at depths down to 20 metres (66 ft). It is common in the waters around Hawaii especially where the sea is turbulent. [1]
The crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci), seems to preferentially feed on corals of the genus Montipora. It is a voracious predator and can have devastating effects on slow growing corals. [1]
Like other reef corals, Montipora capitata is threatened by habitat destruction. Rising sea temperatures can cause "bleaching" because the symbiotic zooxanthellae are expelled from the coral's tissues, leaving the coral colorless. The bleaching event results in very high coral mortality soon after. Stressed corals are more susceptible to disease. Other threats are posed by El Nino events, ocean acidification which tends to dissolve the coral skeleton, trawling and other fishing activities, pollution and sedimentation. [1]
Montipora is a genus of Scleractinian corals in the phylum Cnidaria. Members of the genus Montipora may exhibit many different growth morphologies. With eighty five known species, Montipora is the second most species rich coral genus after Acropora.
Leaf plate montipora, also known as vase coral, cap coral, or plating montipora, is a type of small polyp stony (SPS) coral in the family Acroporidae.
Acroporidae is a family of small polyped stony corals in the phylum Cnidaria. The name is derived from the Greek "akron" meaning "summit" and refers to the presence of a corallite at the tip of each branch of coral. They are commonly known as staghorn corals and are grown in aquaria by reef hobbyists.
Astreopora is a genus of stony corals in the Acroporidae family. Members of the genus are commonly known as star corals and there are seventeen species currently recognized.
Montipora digitata, also known as finger coral, is a species of stony coral. It is found in shallow water in East Africa, the Indo-West Pacific, Kenya, Mozambique and Rodriguez.
Porites lobata, known by the common name lobe coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Poritidae. It is found growing on coral reefs in tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Pocillopora inflata is a species of stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It was first described by Peter William Glynn in 1999. It is found growing on coral reefs in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean but is nowhere abundant.
Stylophora pistillata, commonly known as hood coral or smooth cauliflower coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region and is commonly used in scientific investigations.
Acropora pulchra is a species of colonial staghorn coral in the family Acroporidae. It is found on the back fringes of reefs in shallow water in the western Indo-Pacific Ocean. The oldest fossils of this species date back to the Pleistocene.
Acropora aspera is a species of staghorn coral in the family Acroporidae. It is found on reef flats and in lagoons in very shallow water in the western Indo-Pacific Ocean.
Pocillopora damicornis, commonly known as the cauliflower coral or lace coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It is native to tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Pocillopora verrucosa, commonly known as cauliflower coral, rasp coral, or knob-horned coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It is native to tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Acropora nasuta is a species of branching stony coral in the family Acroporidae. It is native to the western and central Indo-Pacific where it is found in shallow reef habitats. Like other corals of the genus Acropora, it is susceptible to coral bleaching and coral diseases and the IUCN has listed it as being "Near Threatened".
Montipora aequituberculata is a species of stony coral in the family Acroporidae. It is a common coral in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region.
Montipora grisea is a small polyped stony coral in the family Acroporidae.
A corallivore is an animal that feeds on coral. Corallivores are an important group of reef organism because they can influence coral abundance, distribution, and community structure. Corallivores feed on coral using a variety of unique adaptations and strategies. Animals known to be corallivores include certain mollusks, annelids, fish, crustaceans, flatworms and echinoderms. The first recorded evidence of corallivory was presented by Charles Darwin in 1842 during his voyage on HMS Beagle in which he found coral in the stomach of two Scarus parrotfish.
Pocillopora elegans is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It is native to tropical and subtropical parts of the western, central and eastern Pacific Ocean. It is susceptible to bleaching and various coral diseases and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed it as a "vulnerable species".
Pocillopora capitata, commonly known as the cauliflower coral, is a principal hermatypic coral found in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. P. capitata is a colonial species of stony coral of the class Anthozoa, the order Scleractinia, and the family Pocilloporidae. This species was first documented and described by Addison Emery Verrill in 1864. P. capitata is threatened by many of the effects of climate change, including — but not limited to — increased temperatures that cause bleaching and hypoxic conditions.
Anacropora forbesi is a species of briar coral that can be found in the tropical western and central Indo-Pacific region. It is the type species of the genus Anacropora.
Montipora flabellata, known by the common name blue rice coral, is a species of coral in the family Acroporidae. It is found growing on coral reefs in tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is known to be endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Its Hawaiian name translated to Polū laiki ko‘a, polū meaning blue, laiki meaning rice, and ko‘a meaning corals in ʻŌlelo Hawaii.
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