Acropora muricata

Corals and anemones
IUCN: Endangered

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

Photo credit: (c) Ryan McMinds, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Acropora muricata, commonly called staghorn coral, is a species of acroporid coral found in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, Australia, central Indo-Pacific, Japan, Southeast Asia, the East China Sea and the oceanic central and western Pacific Ocean. It is found in tropical shallow reefs, slopes of reefs, and in lagoons, from depths of 5 to 30 m. It was described by Dana in 1846.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Acropora muricata”, 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: 25 records
February: 39 records
March: 51 records
April: 27 records
May: 161 records
June: 25 records
July: 29 records
August: 97 records
September: 50 records
October: 55 records
November: 23 records
December: 16 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–15 m · Deepest record: 1,280 m

0–10 m: 349 records
10–20 m: 53 records
20–30 m: 5 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 24 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–30 °C

22–24 °C: 17 records
24–26 °C: 130 records
26–28 °C: 174 records
28–30 °C: 264 records

Photos

(c) Ryan McMinds, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Pauline Walsh Jacobson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Pauline Walsh Jacobson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Dan Riley, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

Names in 1 more languages

Japanese: スギノキミドリイシ

Other scientific names: Acropora (Acropora) formosa, Acropora (Acropora) muricata, Acropora (Acropora) virgata, Acropora (Eumadrepora) arbuscula, Acropora (Eumadrepora) formosa, Acropora (Eumadrepora) gracilis, Acropora (Eumadrepora) muricata, Acropora arbuscula, Acropora brachiata, Acropora copiosa, Acropora formosa, Acropora gracilis, Acropora laevis, Acropora varia, Acropora virgata, Heteropora appressa, Isopora muricata, Madrepora (Eumadrepora) formosa, Madrepora (Eumadrepora) gracilis, Madrepora (Eumadrepora) muricata, Madrepora (Eumadrepora) virgata, Madrepora brachiata, Madrepora formosa, Madrepora gracilis, Madrepora muricata, Madrepora stellulata, Madrepora virgata, Millepora muricata

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).
2,564 open-data records from 1846 to 2024.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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