Head Coral

Dipsastraea favus

Corals and anemones
IUCN: Vulnerable

Usual depth2–45 m
Water temperature20–29 °C
Best monthsMarch, April, and May
How commonOccasional

All species

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 11 records
February: 44 records
March: 82 records
April: 76 records
May: 111 records
June: 16 records
July: 10 records
August: 46 records
September: 18 records
October: 5 records
November: 4 records
December: 1 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–45 m · Deepest record: 57 m

0–10 m: 331 records
10–20 m: 33 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 14 records
40–50 m: 83 records
50–60 m: 8 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C

20–22 °C: 2 records
22–24 °C: 24 records
24–26 °C: 217 records
26–28 °C: 148 records
28–30 °C: 144 records

Names and classification

English: Head Coral, honeycomb coral, knob coral, pineapple coral

Names in 3 more languages

German: Knopfkoralle
Japanese: スボミキクメイシ, ナミキクメイシ
Simplified Chinese: 正菊珊瑚

Other scientific names: Astraea (Fissicella) denticulata, Astraea (Fissicella) uva, Astraea affinis, Astraea denticulata, Astraea uva, Astrea affinis, Astrea denticulata, Astrea uva, Dichocoenia uva, Favia affinis, Favia aspera, Favia cavernosa, Favia deformata, Favia denticulata, Favia ehrenbergi, Favia favus, Favia geoffroyi, Favia jacquinoti, Favia savignyi, Favia uva, Favites ehrenbergi, Goniastraea favus, Goniastrea denticulata, Goniastrea favus, Madrepora cavernosa, Madrepora denticulata, Madrepora favus, Madrepora uva, Matrepora uva, Orbicella borradailei

Similar species

knob coral
Dipsastraea speciosa
knob coral
Dipsastraea pallida
Lesser knob coral
Cyphastrea serailia
Hedgehog coral
Echinopora lamellosa
Larger star coral
Favites abdita
Spine coral
Hydnophora exesa

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.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,158 open-data records from 1775 to 2010.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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