Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Lowridge cactus coral (Mycetophyllia danaana), recorded as Critically Endangered
Lowridge cactus coral (Mycetophyllia danaana). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Critically Endangered

Lowridge cactus coral

Mycetophyllia danaana

Lowridge cactus coral is a brain coral in the family Faviidae (order Scleractinia) — Mycetophyllia danaana, recorded as Critically Endangered and tied to U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and United States.

Status
Critically Endangered
Scientific name
Mycetophyllia danaana
Taxonomy
Anthozoa · Scleractinia · Faviidae · Mycetophyllia

The brain coral

This species was scientifically described by Milne Edwards & Haime in 1849.

Brain and maze corals in this group grow as mounds or plates with valleys of polyps. The pattern is the skeleton, not a paint job.

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

Lowridge cactus coral is recorded from U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, United States, Colombia, Belize, and Costa Rica.

GBIF currently lists 6,214 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

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.

Lowridge cactus 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 Vietnamese Wikipedia article on Mycetophyllia danaana, translated and retold in English, plus Wikidata item Q24954990 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.

Same genus

Photograph of Rough Cactus Coral (Mycetophyllia ferox), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Rough Cactus Coral

Mycetophyllia ferox
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

Quick answers

What is Lowridge cactus coral?
Lowridge cactus coral is a brain coral in the family Faviidae (order Scleractinia) — Mycetophyllia danaana.
What is the conservation status of Lowridge cactus coral?
Critically Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Mycetophyllia danaana. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Lowridge cactus coral live?
Lowridge cactus coral is a coral in the family Mussidae.
Why is Lowridge cactus 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 Mycetophyllia danaana?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Lowridge cactus coral a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.