knob coral

Dipsastraea speciosa

Corals and anemones
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth2–44 m
Water temperature-0–30 °C
Best monthsApril, May, and August
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Philippe Bourjon, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

Dipsastraea speciosa is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It is found in tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Dipsastraea speciosa”, 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: 1 records
February: 16 records
March: 6 records
April: 38 records
May: 35 records
June: 2 records
July: 12 records
August: 34 records
September: 13 records
October: 4 records
November: 4 records
December: 5 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–44 m · Deepest record: 48 m

0–10 m: 108 records
10–20 m: 17 records
20–30 m: 2 records
30–40 m: 2 records
40–50 m: 19 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -0–30 °C

-2–0 °C: 1 records
0–2 °C: 0 records
2–4 °C: 0 records
4–6 °C: 0 records
6–8 °C: 0 records
8–10 °C: 0 records
10–12 °C: 0 records
12–14 °C: 0 records
14–16 °C: 0 records
16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 13 records
22–24 °C: 54 records
24–26 °C: 78 records
26–28 °C: 78 records
28–30 °C: 137 records

Names and classification

English: knob coral

Names in 3 more languages

French: Favia élégant
Japanese: キクメイシ
Simplified Chinese: 環菊珊瑚, 菊珊瑚科

Other scientific names: Astraea (Fissicella) fragilis, Astraea (Fissicella) pandanus, Astraea (Fissicella) puteolina, Astraea (Fissicella) speciosa, Astraea fragilis, Astraea pandanus, Astraea puteolina, Astraea rudis, Astraea speciosa, Astrea (Favia) rudis, Astrea fragilis, Astrea pandanus, Astrea puteolina, Astrea rudis, Astrea speciosa, Favia clouei, Favia fragilis, Favia pandanus, Favia puteolina, Favia rudis, Favia speciosa, Madrepora radiata, Parastrea clouei, Parastrea radiata

Similar species

Head Coral
Dipsastraea favus
knob coral
Dipsastraea pallida
Lesser knob coral
Cyphastrea serailia
Hedgehog coral
Echinopora lamellosa
Larger star coral
Favites abdita
Larger star coral
Favites halicora

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).
570 open-data records from 1846 to 2012.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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