Leaf coral

Pavona maldivensis

Corals and anemones
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth0–49 m
Water temperature-0–29 °C
Best monthsApril
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Debra Baker · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Pavona maldivensis is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Agariciidae. It is found on shallow reef slopes, particularly those with strong wave action, and on vertical surfaces, in tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Pavona maldivensis”, 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: 158 records
February: 68 records
March: 87 records
April: 344 records
May: 16 records
June: 11 records
July: 22 records
August: 29 records
September: 159 records
October: 91 records
November: 22 records
December: 8 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–49 m · Deepest record: 91.5 m

0–10 m: 287 records
10–20 m: 51 records
20–30 m: 15 records
30–40 m: 129 records
40–50 m: 382 records
50–60 m: 19 records
60–70 m: 38 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -0–29 °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: 8 records
22–24 °C: 4 records
24–26 °C: 236 records
26–28 °C: 154 records
28–30 °C: 413 records

Photos

(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Jay Brasher, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ryan McMinds, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Leaf coral, leaf coral, Maldive Coral

Names in 3 more languages

Japanese: モルジブシコロサンゴ
Thai: ปะการังลายดอกไม้
Simplified Chinese: 馬島雀屏珊瑚

Other scientific names: Pavona (Pseudocolumnastrea) pollicata, Pavona pollicata, Pseudocolumnastrea pollicata, Siderastrea maldivensis

Similar species

Leaf coral
Pavona varians
Leaf coral
Pavona cactus
Leaf coral
Pavona clavus
Leaf coral
Pavona decussata
Leaf coral
Pavona duerdeni
Leaf coral
Pavona 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).
1,079 open-data records from 1905 to 2022.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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