An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of Species of the Coral Genus Acropora (Cnidaria: Scleractinia) from Vamizi Island, Mozambique

Abstract

ABSTRACT The hermatypic coral fauna of the Western Indian Ocean is one of the least known globally. This is true of the East African Coast and especially Mozambique, where taxonomic studies are scarce and date mostly from decades ago. The morphology of coral species is subjected to a high level of geographical and environmental variability, which leads to difficulties in field identification and may limit the level of taxonomic resolution at which coral studies can be conducted. Thorough examination of collected specimens can provide more reliable identification of species and more importantly provide a physical record that can be studied further. We collected and identified 32 species of corals from the genus Acropora (Anthozoa: Scleractinia: Acroporidae) of Vamizi Island, northern Mozambique, and present an annotated and illustrated checklist of species. These species records illustrate the high diversity of Acropora in Vamizi, which is comparable to the diversity of this genus in the region. This study can help assess the biodiversity of the region and provides a baseline against which changes can be closely monitored.