Crusty pencil coral

Madracis pharensis

Corals and anemones
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth9–515 m
Water temperature18–29 °C
Best monthsJuly, August, and October
How commonRare

All species

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 5 records
February: 8 records
March: 9 records
April: 12 records
May: 4 records
June: 10 records
July: 45 records
August: 30 records
September: 6 records
October: 29 records
November: 19 records
December: 13 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 9–515 m · Deepest record: 1,312.5 m

0–10 m: 30 records
10–20 m: 42 records
20–30 m: 28 records
30–40 m: 26 records
40–50 m: 15 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 4 records
70–80 m: 4 records
80–90 m: 5 records
90–100 m: 4 records
100–110 m: 4 records
110+ m: 49 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 18–29 °C

16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 36 records
20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 8 records
24–26 °C: 6 records
26–28 °C: 113 records
28–30 °C: 78 records

Names and classification

English: Crusty pencil coral, Star coral, cave star coral, crusty pencil coral, encrusting star coral, star coral

Names in 2 more languages

German: Krustenkoralle
French: Madrace étoile, Madracis

Other scientific names: Astrocoenia pharensis, Madracis luciphila

Similar species

Madracis asanoi
Cauliflower coral
Pocillopora damicornis
Cauliflower coral
Pocillopora verrucosa
Bush coral
Seriatopora hystrix
Hood coral
Stylophora pistillata
Bush coral
Seriatopora caliendrum

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).
445 open-data records from 1868 to 2023.

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