Staghorn coral

The staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) is a branching, stony coral, within the Order Scleractinia. It is characterized by thick, upright branches which can grow in excess of 2 meters (6.5 ft) in height and resemble the antlers of a stag, hence the name, Staghorn. It grows within various areas of a reef but is most commonly found within shallow fore and back reefs, as well as patch reefs, where water depths rarely exceed 20 meters (65 ft). Staghorn corals can exhibit very fast growth, adding up to 5 cm (~2 in) in new skeleton for every 1 cm of existing skeleton each year, making them one of the fastest growing fringe coral species in the Western Atlantic. Due to this fast growth, Acropora cervicornis, serve as one of the most important reef building corals, functioning as marine nurseries for juvenile fish, buffer zones for erosion and storms, and center points of biodiversity in the Western Atlantic.

Up until the late 1970s, much of the fore reef zones within the Atlantic around the coasts of Southern Florida and the Caribbean Islands were covered with vast, dense colonies of Staghorn coral consisting largely of single-species stands; however, a combination of white-band disease and various anthropogenic factors have reduced this coral coverage by over 95% in some areas.

As of 2006, staghorn coral is listed as Critically Endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature and are federally designated as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Due to the 2023 marine heatwave, staghorn corals are functionally extinct within Florida's Coral Reef.

Wikipedia contributors, “Staghorn coral”, Wikipedia (revision 1379553502), retrieved 2026-11-11. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0; this block is kept separate from our own text.