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

Endangered

Pocillopora meandrina

Pocillopora meandrina

Pocillopora meandrina is a stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae (order Scleractinia), recorded as Endangered.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Pocillopora meandrina
CITES
Appendix II
Taxonomy
Anthozoa · Scleractinia · Pocilloporidae · Pocillopora

Appearance

The colour ranges from brown to pink and the polyps with their extended tentacles are usually visible only at night.

Range and habitat

P. Meandrina occurs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and is found across a range of habitats that include exposed reefs, protected lagoons and lower reef slopes. Includes a detailed close-up view Pocillopora meandrina, called cauliflower coral, is a coral occurring in the Indo-Pacific and Pacific oceans.

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.

Pocillopora meandrina 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 Pocillopora meandrina, Wikidata item Q2000024. 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 Pocillopora damicornis (Pocillopora damicornis), recorded as EndangeredEN

Pocillopora damicornis

Pocillopora damicornis
Photograph of Pocillopora elegans (Pocillopora elegans), recorded as EndangeredEN

Pocillopora elegans

Pocillopora elegans
Photograph of Pocillopora ligulata (Pocillopora ligulata), recorded as EndangeredEN

Pocillopora ligulata

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

Vaquita

Phocoena sinus

Quick answers

What is Pocillopora meandrina?
Pocillopora meandrina is a stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae (order Scleractinia).
What is the conservation status of Pocillopora meandrina?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Pocillopora meandrina. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Pocillopora meandrina live?
P. Meandrina occurs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and is found across a range of habitats that include exposed reefs, protected lagoons and lower reef slopes.
Why is Pocillopora meandrina 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 Pocillopora meandrina?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Pocillopora meandrina a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.