The tables have turned: taxonomy, systematics and biogeography of the Acropora hyacinthus (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) complex

Sage H. Rassmussen; Peter F. Cowman; Andrew H. Baird; Augustine J. Crosbie; Andrea M. Quattrini; Victor Bonito; Frederic Sinniger; Saki Harii; Patrick C. Cabaitan; Nur Fadli; Chun-Hong Tan; Julia Yun-Hsuan Hung; Teina Rongo; Danwei Huang; Tuikolongahau Halafihi; Tom C. L. Bridge

doi:10.1071/IS24049

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Next Contents Vol 39(8)

The tables have turned: taxonomy, systematics and biogeography of the Acropora hyacinthus (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) complex

Sage H. Rassmussen

^A ^* , Peter F. Cowman ^B ^C ^D , Andrew H. Baird ^C , Augustine J. Crosbie ^B ^C , Andrea M. Quattrini ^E , Victor Bonito ^F , Frederic Sinniger ^G , Saki Harii ^G , Patrick C. Cabaitan ^H , Nur Fadli ^I , Chun-Hong Tan ^J , Julia Yun-Hsuan Hung

^C , Teina Rongo ^K , Danwei Huang ^L , Tuikolongahau Halafihi ^M and Tom C. L. Bridge ^B ^C ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Climate Change Cluster, The University of Technology Sydney, Faculty of Science Building 4, Level 6 Harris Street, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia.

^B Biodiversity and Geosciences Program, Queensland Museum Tropics, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.

^C College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.

^D Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.

^E Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.

^F Reef Explorer Fiji, Coral Coast Conservation Center, Votua Village, Baravi, Nadroga, Fiji.

^G Sesoko Marine Research Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Centre, University of the Ryukyus, 3422 Sesoko, Motobu, Okinawa 905-0227, Japan.

^H Marine Science Institute, College of Science, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, 1101, Philippines.

^I Faculty of Marine and Fisheries, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia.

^J Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, 21030, Malaysia.

^K Kōrero O Te ‘Ōrau, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

^L Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117377, Singapore.

^M Ministry of Fisheries, Nuku’alofa, Tongatapu, Tonga.

^* Correspondence to: sagerassmussen@gmail.com, tom.bridge@qm.qld.gov.au

Handling Editor: Allen Collins

Invertebrate Systematics 39, IS24049 https://doi.org/10.1071/IS24049

Submitted: 7 June 2024 Accepted: 5 July 2025 Published: 6 August 2025

Abstract

Genomic data have revealed that traditional coral taxonomy based on skeletal morphology does not accurately reflect the true diversity of, or systematic relationships within, the order Scleractinia. Here, we apply an integrated taxonomic approach combining molecular analysis and morphological comparison of type material with specimens collected from across the Indo-Pacific to revise the taxonomy of a clade within the species-rich and ecologically dominant reef coral genus Acropora, which includes the species Acropora hyacinthus (Dana, 1846) and related species (termed the ‘hyacinthus species complex’). Using a collection of specimens comprising preserved tissues, field images and skeletal vouchers collected from 22 regions spanning the Indian and Pacific Oceans, we generated a phylogenomic reconstruction using targeted capture of ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and exons, combined with examination of morphological characters, to generate primary species hypotheses (PSHs) for the clade. We then tested PSHs by calling Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs) from the genomic dataset to provide additional lines of evidence to support the delineation of species within the clade and revise the taxonomy of the group. Our integrated approach recovered 16 lineages sufficiently delineated to be designated as distinct species. Based on comparison of our specimens to type material and geographical distributions, we remove nine species from synonymy: A. turbinata (Verrrill, 1864), A. surculosa (Dana, 1846), A. patella (Studer, 1878), A. flabelliformis (Milne-Edwards, 1860), A. conferta (Quelch, 1886), A pectinata (Brook, 1892), A. recumbens (Brook, 1892), A. sinensis (Brook, 1893) and A. bifurcata Nemenzo, 1971. We also describe five new species: A. harriottae sp. nov. from south-eastern Australia, A. tersa sp. nov. from eastern Australia and the Western Pacific, A. nyinggulu sp. nov. from the eastern Indian Ocean, Indo-Australian Archipelago and southern Japan, A. uogi sp. nov. from the western Pacific and A. kalindae sp. nov. from north-eastern Australia. Our data reveal that the species richness within this clade of Acropora is far greater than currently assumed due to both overlooked provincialism across the Indo-Pacific as well as lumping of distinct sympatric species based on superficial morphological similarity. Given the key ecological role tabular Acropora play on Indo-Pacific reefs our findings have significant implications for reef conservation and management, for example, A. harriottae sp. nov. is restricted to a small geographical region of south-eastern Australia and is therefore at comparatively high risk of extinction.

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6C42546C-9253-4639-9FF4-D8D80808D78C

Keywords: coral reef, Indo-Pacific, integrative taxonomy, phylogenomics, species delimitation, tabular growth form, target capture, taxonomic revision, ultraconserved elements.

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