Staghorn coral: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the staghorn coral lives – recorded in 24 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Acropora cervicornis
Group	Jellyfish, corals & anemones
Status	Critically endangered (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	24 countries
Continents	North America, South America
Class	Cnidarian
Order	Scleractinia
Family	Acroporidae

Where does the staghorn coral live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the staghorn coral in 24 countries and territories across North America and South America.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the staghorn coral endangered?

The staghorn coral’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Critically endangered” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the staghorn coral?

The staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) is a cnidarian in the order Scleractinia and the family Acroporidae, genus Acropora. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the staghorn coral

The staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) is a branching, stony coral, within the Order Scleractinia. It is characterized by thick, upright branches which can grow in excess of 2 meters (6.5 ft) in height and resemble the antlers of a stag, hence the name, Staghorn. It grows within various areas of a reef but is most commonly found within shallow fore and back reefs, as well as patch reefs, where water depths rarely exceed 20 meters (65 ft). Staghorn corals can exhibit very fast growth, adding up to 5 cm (~2 in) in new skeleton for every 1 cm of existing skeleton each year, making them one of the fastest growing fringe coral species in the Western Atlantic. Due to this fast growth, Acropora cervicornis, serve as one of the most important reef building corals, functioning as marine nurseries for juvenile fish, buffer zones for erosion and storms, and center points of biodiversity in the Western Atlantic.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Staghorn coral (revision 1379553502), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q618452 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).