Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Caulastrea coral (Caulastraea echinulata), recorded as Endangered
Caulastrea coral (Caulastraea echinulata). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Caulastrea coral

Caulastraea echinulata

Caulastrea coral is a stony coral in the family Merulinidae (order Scleractinia) — Caulastraea echinulata, recorded as Endangered and tied to Australia, Indonesia, and Japan.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Caulastraea echinulata
CITES
Appendix II
Taxonomy
Anthozoa · Scleractinia · Merulinidae · Caulastraea

The stony coral

It was first described by Milne Edwards ug Jules Haime in 1849.

Merulinid corals include crispy, plated, and valley-forming colonies on Indo-Pacific reefs.

Stony corals secrete a hard calcium-carbonate skeleton. A named ‘species’ on a reef is a colony of polyps, often hosting zooxanthellae that need sunlit, relatively clear water.

Range and habitat

Caulastrea coral is recorded from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, New Caledonia, and Malaysia.

GBIF currently lists 98 occurrence points. Those points follow where people logged the taxon — museum drawers and surveys included — not a closed range boundary.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Habits

A stony-coral colony is fixed. Growth, bleaching, and death happen in place. Collection and gear damage remove the skeleton as well as the tissue.

The colony stays where it settled. Water quality, light, and a stable bottom decide whether tissue remains on the skeleton.

In crisis

CITES lists this taxon on Appendix II. Confirm the current appendix on the CITES checklist.

Warm-water bleaching, sedimentation, destructive fishing, and the curio trade sit behind many stony-coral badges. That is the group backdrop — confirm the official criteria for this name on the Red List.

Caulastrea coral is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the Cebuano Wikipedia article on Caulastraea echinulata, translated and retold in English, plus Wikidata item Q3943090 and GBIF occurrence geography. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Confirm status and range on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

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Javan rhinoceros

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Sumatran orangutan

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Axolotl

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Quick answers

What is Caulastrea coral?
Caulastrea coral is a coral.
What is the conservation status of Caulastrea coral?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Caulastraea echinulata. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Caulastrea coral live?
Caulastrea coral is a coral.
Why is Caulastrea coral in crisis?
Warm-water bleaching, sedimentation, destructive fishing, and the curio trade sit behind many stony-coral badges. That is the group backdrop — confirm the official criteria for this name on the Red List.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Caulastraea echinulata?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Caulastrea coral a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.