# Staghorn coral (*Acropora cervicornis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/staghorn-coral  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) is a species in the family Acroporidae, order Scleractinia. It has been recorded in 43 countries, most often in United States, Puerto Rico and Colombia. Its IUCN Red List status is Critically Endangered.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Conservation status | Critically Endangered (IUCN) |
| Recorded in | 43 countries |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Cnidaria
- class: Anthozoa
- order: Scleractinia
- family: Acroporidae
- genus: Acropora
- species: *Acropora cervicornis* (Lamarck, 1816)

Synonyms: *Acropora attenuata*, *Heteropora cervicornis*, *Madrepora attenuata*, *Madrepora cervicornis*

## Where it has been recorded

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF (records in brackets). Recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

United States (735), Puerto Rico (353), Colombia (255), Bahamas (210), Belize (199), U.S. Virgin Islands (179), Jamaica (139), Panama (126), Mexico (114), Cuba (86), Cayman Islands (81), Costa Rica (74), Caribbean Netherlands (72), Venezuela (62), Guadeloupe (42), Turks & Caicos Islands (26), Barbados (23), Curaçao (15), Nicaragua (14), Martinique (13), British Virgin Islands (12), St. Martin (9), Anguilla (8), Antigua & Barbuda (7), Netherlands (6), St. Vincent & Grenadines (6), Australia (5), Honduras (5), St. Barthélemy (4), Dominican Republic (4), Haiti (4), Trinidad & Tobago (4), Indonesia (2), Montserrat (2), Sint Maarten (2), Congo - Kinshasa (1), Grenada (1), India (1), St. Kitts & Nevis (1), St. Lucia (1), Philippines (1), Singapore (1), Mayotte (1)

## Common questions

### Where does the staghorn coral live?

The staghorn coral has openly licensed sighting records from 43 countries on GBIF. The most records come from United States, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Bahamas and Belize. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

### Is the staghorn coral endangered?

The staghorn coral is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

### What kind of animal is the staghorn coral?

The staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) belongs to the family Acroporidae in the order Scleractinia.

## Sources

- [GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/dataset/d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF Secretariat. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/), CC0 1.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base.
- [GBIF occurrence aggregates (CC0 and CC BY records only)](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF.org occurrence search, country facet counts restricted to CC0 1.0 and CC BY 4.0 records.
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/), Per file, live API 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Licence and creator recorded per file.
- [English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/), CC BY-SA 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Cite as: Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/staghorn-coral