Brush Coral

Acropora hyacinthus occurs in plate- or table-shaped wide colonies that consist of a number of thin branches in a lattice structure. It has strongly inclined branchlets. A. hyacinthus has axial dominant branches, each branch has a large dominant axial corallite with much smaller cup-shaped radial corallites. The corallites on specimens of A. hyacinthus are often darker than the main branch structure. The species looks similar to many tabular Acropora species and is often misidentified in the field.

It occurs in the Central-Pacific and the Australian east coast. Like most corals, Acropora hyacinthus is classed as a data deficient species on the IUCN Red List, but it is believed that its population is decreasing in line with the global decline in reefs, and it is listed under Appendix II of CITES. Figures of its population are unknown, but is likely to be threatened by the global reduction of coral reefs, the increase of temperature causing coral bleaching, climate change, human activity, the crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) and disease. It occurs at depths from 1 to 25 metres (3 ft 3 in to 82 ft 0 in) on the upper slopes of shallow reefs.