Staghorn coral

Acropora horrida

Corals and anemones
IUCN: Endangered

Usual depth2–15 m
Water temperature22–30 °C
Best monthsMay and November
How commonOccasional

About this species

Acropora horrida is a species of acroporid coral that was first described by James Dwight Dana in 1846. Found in tropical, shallow reefs in marine environments, it occurs near fringing reefs around turbid water, at depths of 5 to 20 m. It is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List, and it is thought to have a decreasing population. It is not common and found over a large area, and is listed under CITES Appendix II.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Acropora horrida”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 7 records
February: 20 records
March: 15 records
April: 12 records
May: 75 records
June: 28 records
July: 21 records
August: 22 records
September: 22 records
October: 29 records
November: 50 records
December: 16 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–15 m · Deepest record: 35 m

0–10 m: 51 records
10–20 m: 22 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–30 °C

20–22 °C: 7 records
22–24 °C: 29 records
24–26 °C: 156 records
26–28 °C: 169 records
28–30 °C: 351 records

Names and classification

English: Staghorn coral

Names in 1 more languages

Japanese: セキセイミドリイシ, ヤセミドリイシ［セキセイミドリイシ］

Other scientific names: Acropora (Acropora) horrida, Acropora (Distichocyathus) angulata, Acropora (Distichocyathus) parilis, Acropora angulata, Acropora parilis, Acropora sekiseiensis, Acropora tylostoma, Heteropora tylostoma, Madrepora (Distichocyathus) angulata, Madrepora (Distichocyathus) inermis, Madrepora (Distichocyathus) parilis, Madrepora (Eumadrepora) tylostoma, Madrepora (Trachylopora) horrida, Madrepora angulata, Madrepora horrida, Madrepora inermis, Madrepora parilis, Madrepora tylostoma

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
745 open-data records from 1846 to 2012.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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