The coral genus Acropora is reviewed from Taiwan for the first time. Forty species belonging to the coral genus Acropora occurring in waters of Taiwan are briefly described and illustrated. The Acropora fauna of Taiwan is seen to come from an essentially Pacific Ocean or broad Indo-Pacific fauna: all 40 species found also occur on the Pacific coast of Australia; 2 species (Acropora verweyi and A. azurea) are not found in the central Indo-Pacific (Indonesian) region, although A. verweyiis also found in the western Indian Ocean. The dominant species in the Taiwan Straits, Acropora formosa, occurs in extensive polymorphic populations, which invite further exploration of species boundaries within this species in this locality. The 40 species of Acropora herein recorded from Taiwan show an 89% similarity in species composition compared with 49 species recorded from islands in the Capricorn group of SE Australia, which is at a similar latitude south. The Acropora fauna of Taiwan is seen to be less diverse compared with 74 species recorded from Japan to the north, 67 species recorded from the Philippines to the south; 83 species recorded from Indonesia, and 51 species recorded from the South China Sea. This variation is possibly due to differences in sampling effort and species interpretation; however, differences in the areas of reef available for colonization, and fewer types of reef habitat within Taiwanese waters, would also imply that many species recorded from those other localities will not be found in Taiwan.
Acropora, Scleractinia, Taxonomy, Taiwan
