Montipora grisea

Montipora grisea
Montipora grisea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Acroporidae
Genus: Montipora
Species: M. grisea
Binomial name
Montipora grisea
Bernard, 1897

Montipora grisea is a small polyped stony coral of the Montipora genus.

Description

It is an encrusting species considered to be massively sized, with "thick unifacial plates." [2] It is usually dark brown or green in color, but also appears in shades of blue or pink.[2]

Distribution & habitat

Montipora grisea has a vast range, found within the reefs of forty-five countries and territories throughout the Indian, Pacific oceans.[1] It exists at depths of 3 to 20 meters, with a preference for "shallow, tropical reef environments on upper reef slopes." [1]

Despite being considered a common species with a presently large population, Montipora grisea faces an array of threats.[1] It is moderately susceptible to bleaching, though notably less so than Acropora corals.[1] Other threats include predation from the crown-of-thorns starfish, harvesting for the aquarium trade, climate change and ocean acidification.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 DeVantier, L., Hodgson, G., Huang, D., Johan, O., Licuanan, A., Obura, D.O., Sheppard, C., Syahrir, M. & Turak, E., 2014. Montipora grisea. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2016.1.
  2. 1 2 Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2013. Montipora grisea. Montipora grisea. Corals of the World.
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