Appearance
''Acropora caroliniana'' species form in thick horizontal structures, made of flat branches. It is light green, pale blue or white-brown in colour, and are also found on small branchlets. These have large axial corallites with diameters up to 1.7 to 3.5 millimetres which become narrow at the ends, and curve upwards.The species' radial corallites are small and "pocket-like". It looks similar to ''Acropora lokani'' and ''Acropora loripes''. It is found on the upper slopes of tropical, shallow reefs, at depths of between 5 and 25 m, and reaches maturity at over eight years. The species is found at temperatures of 25.48 to 27.5 °C. Colonies have diameters of up to 50 centimetres and branchlets can reach lengths of 25 millimetres and widths of 8 millimetres.
Distribution
''Acropora caroliniana'' is uncommon but found over a large area; Australia, western Pacific, the Indo-Pacific, Pohnpei, and Fiji in marine habitats. It occurs in two-thirds of the regions of Indonesia and also in Papua New Guinea.Status
It is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List as the population is decreasing, and is listed under Appendix II of CITES.It is threatened by the global reduction of coral reefs, the increase of temperature causing bleaching, disease, coral harvesting, climate change, fishing, human development, pollution, and being prey to starfish ''Acanthaster planci''. It is sometimes found in Marine Protected Areas.
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