The Pacific Elkhorn Acro that made headlines several years ago has an uncanny resemblance to the Caribbean Elkhorn Coral, Acropora palmata. It was a great surprise to find the highly distinctive Pacific Elkhorn Acro growing aplenty in Kwajalein Atoll and in addition to our original images, we made this video of the unique coral in its natural habitat.
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There’s a possibility that the Pacific Elkhorn Acro could be Acropora rotumana which was described in 1898 but holotypes were lost, and was therefore the coral was provisionally folded into a distinct growth form of Acropora abrotanoides. In the video you can see the range of appearance that the Pacific Elkhorn Displays and despite the shaky footage, you can see the massive fused basal branches that makes the Pacific Elkhorn Acro so distinctive.
