DiscoverSpeciesCorals and anemones
Lesser star coral
Goniastrea favulus
- Usual depth2–13 m
- Water temperature21–29 °C
- Best monthsFebruary, May, and August
- How commonOccasional
About this species
Goniastrea favulus, also known as the lesser star coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It occurs in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region. This is an uncommon species of coral and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being "near threatened".
Text from the Wikipedia article “Goniastrea favulus”, 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: 0 records
- February: 16 records
- March: 8 records
- April: 8 records
- May: 20 records
- June: 5 records
- July: 2 records
- August: 16 records
- September: 4 records
- October: 10 records
- November: 0 records
- December: 3 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 2–13 m · Deepest record: 26 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 21–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Lesser star coral, lesser star coral
Names in 2 more languages
- Japanese
- ヒメウネカメノコキクメイシ
- Simplified Chinese
- 似菊角星珊瑚
Other scientific names: Astraea (Fissicella) favulus, Astraea favulus, Astrea favulus, Favia parvimurata, Favites favulus, Prionastraea favulus
Similar species
Lesser star coralGoniastrea pectinata
knob coralGoniastrea stelligera
- Lesser star coral
Goniastrea edwardsi
- Lesser star coral
Goniastrea retiformis
Lesser star coralGoniastrea minuta
Lesser star coralGoniastrea thecata
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).
- 355 open-data records from 1846 to 2016.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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