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

Endangered

Porites attenuata

Porites attenuata

Porites attenuata is a stony coral in the family Poritidae (order Scleractinia), recorded as Endangered and tied to Japan, Australia, and Philippines.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Porites attenuata
CITES
Appendix II
Taxonomy
Anthozoa · Scleractinia · Poritidae · Porites

The stony coral

It was first described by Nemenzo in 1955.

Porites builds dense mounds or lobes. The skeleton is hard and the polyps are small, so a live colony looks more like a pitted stone than a branching thicket.

Poritid corals are massive or branching stony corals with small polyps packed across a hard surface.

Range and habitat

Porites attenuata is recorded from Japan, Australia, Philippines, Palau, Solomon Islands, and Indonesia.

GBIF currently lists 51 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.

Porites attenuata 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 Porites attenuata, translated and retold in English, plus Wikidata item Q3946495 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 Thick finger coral (Porites duerdeni), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Thick finger coral

Porites duerdeni
Photograph of Porites evermanni (Porites evermanni), recorded as EndangeredEN

Porites evermanni

Porites evermanni
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

Quick answers

What is Porites attenuata?
Porites attenuata is a coral.
What is the conservation status of Porites attenuata?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Porites attenuata. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Porites attenuata live?
Porites attenuata is a coral.
Why is Porites attenuata 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 Porites attenuata?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Porites attenuata a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.