Hedgehog coral

Echinopora gemmacea

Corals and anemones
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth2–47 m
Water temperature-0–30 °C
Best monthsFebruary, March, and May
How commonOccasional

All species

Photo credit: (c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 20 records
February: 58 records
March: 35 records
April: 22 records
May: 36 records
June: 9 records
July: 7 records
August: 21 records
September: 7 records
October: 15 records
November: 17 records
December: 11 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–47 m · Deepest record: 49.5 m

0–10 m: 91 records
10–20 m: 28 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 76 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: 0 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 78 records
26–28 °C: 122 records
28–30 °C: 104 records

Photos

(c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Hedgehog coral, hedgehog coral

Names in 2 more languages

Japanese: オオリュウキュウキッカサンゴ
Simplified Chinese: 小芽棘孔珊瑚, 芽棘孔珊瑚（寶石刺孔珊瑚）

Other scientific names: Echinastrea gemmacea, Echinopora carduus, Echinopora ehrenbergi, Echinopora ehrenbergii, Echinopora hemprichi, Echinopora rousseaui, Echinopora solidior, Explanaria gemmacea, Explanaria hemprichii, Orbicella mammillosa, Stephanocora hemprichii

Similar species

Hedgehog coral
Echinopora horrida
Hedgehog coral
Echinopora lamellosa
Hedgehog coral
Echinopora forskaliana
Hedgehog coral
Echinopora fruticulosa
Hedgehog coral
Echinopora hirsutissima
Hedgehog coral
Echinopora mammiformis

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).
460 open-data records from 1816 to 2010.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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