Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Orbicella annularis (Orbicella annularis), recorded as Endangered
Orbicella annularis (Orbicella annularis). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Orbicella annularis

Orbicella annularis

Orbicella annularis is a stony coral in the family Merulinidae (order Scleractinia), recorded as Endangered.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Orbicella annularis
Taxonomy
Anthozoa · Scleractinia · Merulinidae · Orbicella

Range and habitat

Orbicella annularis is a coral that lives in the western Atlantic Ocean and is the most thoroughly studied and most abundant species of reef-building coral in the Caribbean to date.

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.

Orbicella annularis 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 English Wikipedia article on Orbicella annularis, Wikidata item Q22106243. 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.

Same genus

Photograph of Orbicella faveolata (Orbicella faveolata), recorded as EndangeredEN

Orbicella faveolata

Orbicella faveolata
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 Orbicella annularis?
Orbicella annularis is a stony coral in the family Merulinidae (order Scleractinia).
What is the conservation status of Orbicella annularis?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Orbicella annularis. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Orbicella annularis live?
Orbicella annularis is a coral that lives in the western Atlantic Ocean and is the most thoroughly studied and most abundant species of reef-building coral in the Caribbean to date.
Why is Orbicella annularis 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 Orbicella annularis?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Orbicella annularis a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.