DiscoverSpeciesCorals and anemones
Leaf coral
Pavona cactus
- Usual depth3–12 m
- Water temperature20–30 °C
- Best monthsMay
- How commonOccasional
About this species
Pavona cactus, the cactus coral, potato chip coral or leaf coral is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Agariciidae. This coral is found in shallow waters on reefs and in lagoons in tropical parts of the Indo-Pacific region.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Pavona cactus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
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Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 1 records
- February: 8 records
- March: 5 records
- April: 12 records
- May: 34 records
- June: 6 records
- July: 5 records
- August: 18 records
- September: 8 records
- October: 0 records
- November: 0 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 3–12 m · Deepest record: 46 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 20–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Leaf coral, Cactus Coral, leaf coral, Pavona coral, Potato Chip Coral
Names in 3 more languages
- Japanese
- サオトメシコロサンゴ
- Thai
- ปะการังลายดอกไม้
- Simplified Chinese
- 繡球雀屏珊瑚
Other scientific names: Agaricia boletiformis, Leptoseris venusta, Lophoseris boletiformis, Lophoseris cactus, Lophoseris cristata, Lophoseris knorri, Lophoseris laxa, Lophoseris venusta, Madrepora boletiformis, Madrepora cactus, Madrepora cristata, Matrepora boletiformis, Mycedium cristata, Pavona cristata, Pavona formosa, Pavona laxa, Pavona praetorta, Pavona venusta, Pavonia (Lophoseris) cristata, Pavonia boletiformis, Pavonia cactus, Pavonia cristata, Pavonia formosa, Pavonia praetorta, Pavonia venusta
Similar species
- Leaf coral
Pavona decussata
- Leaf coral
Pavona frondifera
- Porcelain coral
Leptoseris explanata
- Porcelain coral
Leptoseris gardineri
- Porcelain coral
Leptoseris papyracea
- Porcelain coral
Leptoseris scabra
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).
- 413 open-data records from 1775 to 2023.
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