Alveopora is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Acroporidae. Members of this genus are native to the Indo-Pacific region and are often found on reef slopes in turbid water. They are generally uncommon.
Characteristics Alveopora has a very light and porous skeleton consisting of interconnecting rods and spines. The colonies are either massive or branching and often have irregular shapes. The corallites have walls that are very perforated and septa that are mostly composed of fine spines which may meet in the centre forming a tangle of the columella. The polyps are large and fleshy and are normally extended both day and night. They have twelve tentacles, often with swollen knob-like tips. They have symbiotic zooxanthellae in their tissues and are usually white, pale grey, cream or light brown, sometimes with contrasting coloured tentacles.
Species This genus contains the following species:
Alveopora allingi Hoffmeister, 1925 Alveopora catalai Wells, 1968 Alveopora daedalea (Forsskål, 1775) Alveopora excelsa Verrill, 1864 Alveopora fenestrata (Lamarck, 1816) Alveopora gigas Veron, 1985 Alveopora japonica Eguchi, 1968 Alveopora marionensis Veron & Pichon, 1982 Alveopora minuta Veron, 2000 Alveopora noamiae Nemenzo, 1979 Alveopora ocellata Wells, 1954 Alveopora simplex Alveopora spongiosa Dana, 1846 Alveopora superficialis Pillai & Scheer, 1976 Alveopora tizardi Bassett-Smith, 1890 Alveopora verrilliana Dana, 1846 Alveopora viridis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1833)
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