Acropora tenuis reclassified into several new species

[firechild]

I came across this article this morning and thought it was interesting - https://reefbuilders.com/2023/08/08/indonesian-acropora-tenuis-has-been-renamed-acropora-bifaria/

The key part is this:

Using samples taken from far and wide, the super popular Rainbow tenuis we all covet from Indonesia has been revealed as Acropora bifaria, the type specimens coming from Java, in Indonesia. Acropora tenuis from the Great Barrier Reef and Western Australia has also been revised, and they are now called Acropora kenti. There are no Acropora tenuis growing naturally now, in either Indonesia or the whole of Australia. The real Acropora tenuis now only comes from Fiji and Tonga. New species Acropora tenuissima also only comes from Fiji, while new species Acropora rongoi is described from the Cook Islands.

I was chatting to Tom about this back in early 2021 so while they've known that the old A. tenuis was made up of several different species for some time, the paper has only recently been published. It looks like there are many more changes coming for the genus Acropora and I understand there could be as many as 150 new species recognised in the near future.

 

[386reeftrader]

Very cool and interesting. Though most if the hobby doesn’t acknowledge species these days changes to taxonomy have been needed for some time.

 

[firechild]

Very cool and interesting. Though most if the hobby doesn’t acknowledge species these days changes to taxonomy have been needed for some time.

I did my undergrad degree with Tom (the lead author of that paper) and we shared a particular interest in acroporids so I've always tended to use specific names where possible and very much dislike the trade names. I understand that many hobbyists don't care too much for specific names but for those of us that do appreciate the science in the hobby, this is an interesting development with respect to the most prevalent genus of corals, not just in the hobby but in the world. Glad you find it of interest.

 

[Enderg60]

So are there physical differences between the species or is it just geographical classifications?

 

[firechild]

So are there physical differences between the species or is it just geographical classifications?

Have a read of the paper, it's linked at the bottom of the article. It's quite an interesting paper as it goes into the differences in classification techniques used as compared to the techniques used by Wallace and Veron in the 80s and 90s. They are using genomic classifications rather than morphological. The paper details how they've overturned the old assumptions of reticulate evolution and high variability in morphology due to conditions.

 

[StubbyAcro]

Is identifying acropora based on their morphology now a worthless endeavour? I was thinking about delving into this topic since I have no idea about the species of 95% acroporas that I have. I don't want to get down to the species name but I do want to know about the genus. Is it still worth to learn Veron's ways of classifiying acroporas?

 

[encrustingacro]

Is identifying acropora based on their morphology now a worthless endeavour? I was thinking about delving into this topic since I have no idea about the species of 95% acroporas that I have. I don't want to get down to the species name but I do want to know about the genus. Is it still worth to learn Veron's ways of classifiying acroporas?

I would still use morphology, but I would also take into account the collection locality. Also, most corals (including Acropora) that have been in captivity for a long time are generally no longer able to be IDed to the species level due to growth changes caused by vastly different conditions in aquariums than in the wild.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Have a read of the paper, it's linked at the bottom of the article. It's quite an interesting paper as it goes into the differences in classification techniques used as compared to the techniques used by Wallace and Veron in the 80s and 90s. They are using genomic classifications rather than morphological. The paper details how they've overturned the old assumptions of reticulate evolution and high variability in morphology due to conditions.

Oh man lucky you that’s so cool! I would love to have been able to work with people like that. Unfortunately I will have to continue to learn and study stuff from home.

 

[StatelineReefer]

I did my undergrad degree with Tom (the lead author of that paper) and we shared a particular interest in acroporids so I've always tended to use specific names where possible and very much dislike the trade names. I understand that many hobbyists don't care too much for specific names but for those of us that do appreciate the science in the hobby, this is an interesting development with respect to the most prevalent genus of corals, not just in the hobby but in the world. Glad you find it of interest.

More people should have an interest in this as species often dictates light, flow, and spectrum requirements.