Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus), recorded as Critically Endangered
Pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Critically Endangered

Pillar coral

Dendrogyra cylindrus

Pillar coral is a hard coral (order Scleractinia) found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

Status
Critically Endangered
Scientific name
Dendrogyra cylindrus
CITES
Appendix II
Taxonomy
Anthozoa · Scleractinia · Meandrinidae · Dendrogyra

Appearance

This coral is usually some shade of beige or brown.

This coral can grow to a height of 3 m (10 ft) with pillars more than 10 cm (4 in) wide but is usually much smaller than this.

Range and habitat

Pillar corals are found in the warmer parts of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Within its range, D. Cylindrus is common in some places, but rare in other seemingly suitable locations. Some of the islands in the Bahamas have plentiful numbers of colonies as does the north coast of Jamaica.

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.

Pillar coral is Critically 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 English Wikipedia article on Pillar coral, Wikidata item Q25666973. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Also in this catalog

Photograph of Vaquita (Phocoena sinus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Vaquita

Phocoena sinus
Photograph of Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Javan rhinoceros

Rhinoceros sondaicus
Photograph of Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Sumatran orangutan

Pongo abelii
Photograph of Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Axolotl

Ambystoma mexicanum

Quick answers

What is Pillar coral?
Pillar coral is a hard coral (order Scleractinia) found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
What is the conservation status of Pillar coral?
Critically Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Dendrogyra cylindrus. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Pillar coral live?
Pillar corals are found in the warmer parts of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
Why is Pillar 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 Dendrogyra cylindrus?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Pillar coral a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.