DiscoverSpeciesCorals and anemones
giant ball corallimorph
Paracorynactis hoplites
- Usual depth6.5 m
- Water temperature28°C
- Best monthsMay
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Pauline Walsh Jacobson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Paracorynactis is a genus of corallimorphs from the western Indo-West Pacific, possessing one known species; Paracorynactis hoplites. They are specialized predators of echinoderms, and are notable for preying on the destructive crown-of-thorns starfish among others. They are sometimes found in the aquarium trade.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Paracorynactis”, 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: 4 records
- February: 8 records
- March: 9 records
- April: 10 records
- May: 19 records
- June: 6 records
- July: 11 records
- August: 5 records
- September: 4 records
- October: 9 records
- November: 9 records
- December: 6 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 6.5 m · Deepest record: 6.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 28°C
Photos
(c) Gregor Bailar, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Bernard DUPONT, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Georgina Jones, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Dan Schofield, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- giant ball corallimorph
Other scientific names: Corynactis hoplites, Pseudocorynactis hoplites
Similar species
Jewel AnemoneCorynactis australis
Club-tipped anemoneCorynactis californica
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).
- Species data updated November 5, 2026.
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