Flat lettuce coral

Echinophyllia aspera

Corals and anemones
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth2–17 m
Water temperature-0–30 °C
Best monthsMay and August
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Echinophyllia aspera, commonly known as the Chalice coral, is a species of large polyp stony corals in the family Lobophylliidae. It is a colonial coral which is partly encrusting and partly forms laminate plates or tiers. It is native to the western and central Indo-Pacific.

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

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 29 records
February: 17 records
March: 14 records
April: 13 records
May: 56 records
June: 15 records
July: 29 records
August: 57 records
September: 25 records
October: 26 records
November: 11 records
December: 26 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–17 m · Deepest record: 74 m

0–10 m: 179 records
10–20 m: 51 records
20–30 m: 4 records
30–40 m: 2 records
40–50 m: 9 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 2 records
70–80 m: 1 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: 0 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 7 records
22–24 °C: 45 records
24–26 °C: 130 records
26–28 °C: 133 records
28–30 °C: 74 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Flat lettuce coral, flat lettuce coral

Names in 3 more languages

French: Corail-feuille rugueuse
Japanese: キッカサンゴ
Simplified Chinese: 粗糙棘葉珊瑚

Other scientific names: Echinophyllia subglabra, Echinopora aspera, Echinopora magna, Explanaria aspera, Madrepora aspera, Mycedium aspera, Oxyphyllia aspera, Oxypora aspera

Similar species

porous lettuce coral
Echinophyllia glabra
Flat lettuce coral
Echinophyllia orpheensis
Flat lettuce coral
Echinophyllia echinoporoides
Flat lettuce coral
Echinophyllia patula
Starry cup coral
Acanthastrea echinata
lobed cactus coral
Acanthastrea pachysepta

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).
747 open-data records from 1786 to 2012.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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