Lesser star coral

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 44 records
February: 37 records
March: 44 records
April: 151 records
May: 187 records
June: 45 records
July: 60 records
August: 110 records
September: 49 records
October: 64 records
November: 38 records
December: 59 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–46 m · Deepest record: 52.5 m

0–10 m: 270 records
10–20 m: 43 records
20–30 m: 2 records
30–40 m: 32 records
40–50 m: 151 records
50–60 m: 5 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: 4 records
22–24 °C: 13 records
24–26 °C: 129 records
26–28 °C: 161 records
28–30 °C: 157 records

Photos

(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Debra Baker · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) ajott, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ryan McMinds, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) ajott, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Lesser star coral, lesser star coral

Names in 2 more languages

Japanese: コカメノコキクメイシ
Simplified Chinese: 翼形角星珊瑚

Other scientific names: Astraea (Fissicella) cerium, Astraea (Fissicella) favistella, Astraea (Fissicella) pectinata, Astraea (Fissicella) sinuosa, Astraea cerium, Astraea favistella, Astraea pectinata, Astraea sinuosa, Astrea cerium, Astrea favistella, Astrea favitella, Astrea pectinata, Astrea sinuosa, Favites sinuosa, Goniastraea pectinata, Goniastraea planulata, Goniastraea regularis, Goniastrea cerium, Goniastrea coronalis, Goniastrea favistella, Goniastrea grayi, Goniastrea multilobata, Goniastrea planulata, Goniastrea quoyi, Goniastrea regularis, Goniastrea sinuosa, Platygyra exigua, Prionastraea sinuosa

Similar species

knob coral
Goniastrea stelligera
Lesser star coral
Goniastrea edwardsi
Lesser star coral
Goniastrea favulus
Lesser star coral
Goniastrea retiformis
Lesser star coral
Goniastrea minuta
Lesser star coral
Goniastrea 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.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,137 open-data records from 1834 to 2012.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.