#5002 · 🪼 jellyfish, starfish, worms & co

Pig-tooth Coral

🇳🇱 Middellandse Zee-sterkoraal ·Balanophyllia europaea

VUvulnerable 🪼 Jellyfish, starfish, worms & co 📍 in Europe, not in NL

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © josepvilanova · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © Antoni López-Arenas i Cama · CC BY-NC 4.0
3. © Sylvain Le Bris · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. Westgriechenland, Griechenland:© Falk Viczian Solarboot-Projekte gGmbH · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, FR:© Frédéric ANDRE · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. Akrotiri, Akrotiri and Dhekelia:© bogmyrtle · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. Anse du Petit Nid, 13960, France:© lucane · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. 13960 Sausset-les-Pins, France:© Sylvain Le Bris · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. Radakia:© Chris Taklis · CC BY 4.0
10. Attica, Attica, GR:© Sarah Faulwetter · CC BY 4.0

what is it?

Balanophyllia europea , called also Scarlet coral or pig-tooth coral, is a small species of stony coral in the family Dendrophylliidae.

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 1,659iNaturalist observations
threat VUvulnerable

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.
1,659 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

fact sheet

English: Pig-tooth Coral
Nederlands: Middellandse Zee-sterkoraal
scientific name: Balanophyllia europaea
class: Anthozoa
order: Scleractinia
family: Dendrophylliidae
IUCN Red List: VU · vulnerable
sightings in NL: 0
sightings in Europe: 1,206
sightings worldwide: 1,659
GBIF records in NL: 0
weight: —
length: —
lifespan: —

IUCN in Dutch: kwetsbaar. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 95060, Wikidata Q3633208, GBIF 2259635, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.