#5066 · 🪼 jellyfish, starfish, worms & co
Elkhorn Coral
Acropora palmata
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Ryan McMinds · CC BY 4.0
- 2. © Ryan McMinds · CC BY 4.0
- 3. © taxono-my · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 4. © FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- 5. © Pauline Walsh Jacobson · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. © Sarita Claudia Frontana Uribe · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 7. © Jonh Arias · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. © Sarita Claudia Frontana Uribe · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. © Pauline Walsh Jacobson · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. © Pauline Walsh Jacobson · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
Elkhorn coral ( Acropora palmata ) is considered to be one of the most important reef-building corals in the Caribbean, although current populations have been decimated by white band disease and have yet to fully recover. This species is structurally complex with many large branches. The coral structure resembles that of elk antlers. These branches create habitats for many other reef species, such as lobsters, parrot-fish, snapper shrimps and other reef fish. Elkhorn coral colonies are incredibly fast-growing,...
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
- 2,731 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named by Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck in 1816 (210 years ago).
- Listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
fact sheet
- English
- Elkhorn Coral
- scientific name
- Acropora palmata
- class
- Anthozoa
- order
- Scleractinia
- family
- Acroporidae
- IUCN Red List
- CR · critically endangered
- sightings in NL
- 0
- sightings worldwide
- 2,731
- GBIF records in NL
- 5
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1816 by Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck
IUCN in Dutch: ernstig bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 93312, Wikidata Q163614, GBIF 5184657, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.