DiscoverSpeciesCorals and anemones
Leaf coral
Pavona gigantea
- Usual depth3–11 m
- Water temperature25–29 °C
- Best monthsAugust and November
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Alberto Alcalá, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Alberto Alcalá · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Pavona gigantea is a species of colonial stony coral from the genus Pavona. The species was originally described by Addison Emery Verrill in 1869.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Pavona gigantea”, 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: 18 records
- February: 44 records
- March: 29 records
- April: 57 records
- May: 91 records
- June: 76 records
- July: 95 records
- August: 252 records
- September: 119 records
- October: 151 records
- November: 345 records
- December: 52 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 3–11 m · Deepest record: 25 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–29 °C
Photos
(c) Carlos Domínguez-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Alberto Alcalá, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Alberto Alcalá, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Carlos Domínguez-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ryan McMinds, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) keesgroenendijk, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Leaf coral, leaf coral
Other scientific names: Pavona (Pavona) gigantea, Pavona gigantean, Pavonia gigantea
Similar species
Leaf coralPavona varians
Leaf coralPavona cactus
Leaf coralPavona clavus
Leaf coralPavona decussata
Leaf coralPavona duerdeni
Leaf coralPavona explanulata
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).
- 1,540 open-data records from 1972 to 2019.
- Species data updated November 5, 2026.
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