Orbicella faveolata

Orbicella faveolata NatureServe Explorer Species Reports — NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.

FWS Digital Media Library — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video. Orbicella faveolata, commonly known as mountainous star coral, is a colonial stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It is native to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and is listed as “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This species was formerly known as Montastraea faveolata. Colonies of this coral are solid and very large, forming a mound with a skirt. The surface is smooth and undulating, with small lumps, bulges or lobes. The corallites, the stony cups in which the polyps sit, are about 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter and cover the entire surface of the coral. The colour is usually pale brown but may be deep brown with fluorescent green highlights. This coral is part of a species complex including the closely related Orbicella annularis and Orbicella franksi, but the former has more distinct nodules or small columns and the latter has a more irregular, lumpy surface.