Dipsastraea favus

(Forskål, 1775)

Vernacular names
English : Head coral
French : Corail ananas

Classification
Class : Anthozoa
Order : Scleractinia
Family : Merulinidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Massive round or slightly flattened colonies reaching can commonly reach more than 1 meter across. Chalices are 1.7 cm in diameter, corallites are conical in shape with slightly irregular, even-spaced septa. Mottled with pale centers.

Range and habitat
The species occurs in the Indo-Pacific area, from Red Sea and South Africa to central Pacific in French Polynesia and Marquesas Islands. Lives on reef slopes and back margins from wave base to 40 meters deep.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Appendix II
Status : The species is still common in the wild but impacted by climate change and other factors causing habitat destruction.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

Back to “Corals, Gorgonians, Anemones and relatives” page