Acanthastrea echinata
species of cnidarian
Acanthastrea echinata, commonly known as the starry cup coral, is a species of corals in the family Lobophylliidae. It is a wide-ranging species found from the western Indian Ocean, throughout the Pacific Ocean, and eastward to the southeastern Atlantic Ocean. It can inhabit any reef habitat to depths of 50 m. This species, which may become threatened with the global decline of coral reefs, is a popular coral used in aquariums.
Description
A. echinata colonies crustlike to very thick and reach up to about a meter across. The thick-walled, circular corallites are cerioid or subplocoid. The septa have large teeth. The skeleton is covered with a folded fleshy tissue. They are usually dull in color, coming in shades of gray, brown, or green, but some can be bright and colorful. They are a uniform color or mottled.
The public source identifies “Acanthastrea echinata” as species of cnidarian. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Acanthastrea, echinata and species.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Acanthastrea echinata”, the useful work is to connect “species of cnidarian” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 29, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q3942550. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Acanthastrea echinata” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.