Agaricia lamarcki

(Edwards & Haime, 1851)

Vernacular names
English : Lamarck’s sheet coral
French : Agarice de Lamarck

Classification
Class : Anthozoa
Order : Scleractinia
Family : Agariciidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
This species forms large overlapping sheet-like colonies, usually arranged in whorls with each sheet showing concentric valleys where corallites are located. Rusty-brown coloration with corallites’ mouths being star-shaped and white.

Range and habitat
This species occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean, from south USA (Florida) and Bahamas, south to Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Island and Venezuela. Lives in shallow reef environments, from 10 to 76 meters deep.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
CITES : Appendix II
Status : This species used to be very common within its range and seemed to be resilient. Unfortunately, it has proven to be very sensitive to bleaching, ocean water acidification and warming amongst other threats. Coral reefs in the Caribbean areas are under extreme pressure from habitat loss and climate change consequences and more than 80% of corals and reefs there are scheduled to disappear within the next decades.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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