Helioseris cucullata Helioseris cucullata is a Caribbean coral with a one of a kind appearance. You can easily spot this coral by the cup or nose-shaped corallite that always points to the exterior of the colony. Helioseris has several growth forms and color combination, but…
Coral Identification
Caribbean Coral Diaries: Agaricia fragilis
Agaricia fragilis is a species of thin plating coral that can grow in several different forms. This coral has shallow ridges and valleys with a single set of polyps aligned in even rows. Nice evenly arranged rows of polyps are characteristic…
Caribbean Coral Diaries: Agaricia lamarcki
Agaricia lamarcki Agaricia lamarcki is a deep water species of plating coral you will find at the lower end of recreational diving limits. You can often find this delicate sheet encrusting on ledges and rocks around 30m (100 feet deep).…
Caribbean Coral Diaries: Porites furcata
Porites furcata Porites furcata wasn’t a coral we paid much attention to until we came diving in Honduras. On it’s own a few lone branches of P. furcata (Branching Finger Coral) blends right into the reef. But once you see rolling…
360 VIDEO – You Won’t Believe This Crazy Elkhorn Coral Reef!
Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) is a flagship species in the Caribbean and an important reef building coral. Elkhorn can grow to several meters across and several colonies are able to grow and fuse together forming extensive fields. Unfortunately, this coral is…
Caribbean Coral Diaries: Orbicella franksi
Orbicella franksi Orbicella franksi is one of three species of Orbicella coral found in the Caribbean. This species of Orbicella grows into large plates covered in irregularly shaped nodules. The three species of Orbicella are O. faveolata, O. annularis, and O. franksi. The…
Guide to Caribbean Coral Identification
Guide to Caribbean Coral Identification Hi there, my name is Nicole and I am in love with coral! I want to inspire scuba divers to explore the reef with new eyes by taking a closer look at corals. I have created…
Caribbean Coral Diaries: Colpophyllia natans
Colpophyllia natans Colpophyllia natans is a dominant reef-building coral with wide meandering valleys stretching across the entire surface of the coral colony. This coral forms impressive domed boulders and is one of the most common corals in the Caribbean. Colpophyllia…
Caribbean Coral Diaries – Montastrea cavernosa
The Coral Diaries series is a list of corals we have seen while diving around the world. We’ve created this series so that you can learn more about corals, and how to identify them on the reef. We encourage you…
Caribbean Coral Diaries – Mussa angulosa
Spiny Flower Coral Mussa angulosa is a large polyp stony coral found in turbid Caribbean reefs. This coral has fleshy polyps which can grow in groups or as a single polyp. The polyps can be up to 10cm or 4inches…