Favites pentagona

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Cnidaria · Class: Hexacorallia · Order: Scleractinia · Family: Merulinidae · Genus: Favites.

Accepted name: Favites pentagona · Authority: (Esper, 1790) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 207446.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Aphrastraea deformis (Lamarck, 1816); Aphrastrea deformis (Lamarck, 1816); Astraea (Fissicella) deformis Lamarck, 1816; Astraea (Fissicella) pentagona (Esper, 1790); Astraea deformis Lamarck, 1816; Astraea pentagona (Esper, 1790); Astrea deformis Lamarck, 1816; Favia adduensis Gardiner, 1904; Favia pentagona (Esper, 1790); Favites gailei Chevalier, 1971; Favites parvicella Nemenzo, 1959; Favites pentagona var. tenuis Umbrove, 1946; Goniastrea rudis Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849; Madrepora pentagona Esper, 1790; Matrepora pentagona (Esper, 1790); Plesiastrea haeckeli Brüggemann, 1877; Prionastraea gibbosissima Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849; Prionastraea pentagona (Esper, 1790); Prionastrea gibbosissima (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849); Prionastrea pentagona (Esper, 1790); Stephanocoenia maldivensis Gardiner, 1904; Trachyphyllia pentagona (Esper, 1790).

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=207446 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)

Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Favites pentagona. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Depth range: 0–40 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated.

SeaLifeBase notes: Occurs in shallow reef environments (Ref. 848) and among rocks (Ref. 102838). Distinctive; colonies are easily recognized (Ref. 130769).

Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 46744) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Favites-pentagona.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

1,569 georeferenced occurrence records for Favites pentagona are published through GBIF from 48 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 228 distinct locations from a sample of 1,569 records, omitting 41 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: Australia (711); Japan (182); Indonesia (80); Réunion (78); India (52).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2260082) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2260082&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=207446 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Favites pentagona (Esper, 1790) as Least Concern (code LC). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 133209) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/133209/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2260082) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2260082/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Colonies of Favites pentagona are encrusting or massive, sometimes with lobes forming irregular columns. The colony may spread to about a metre (yard) across. The corallites are less than 6 mm in diameter. The corallite walls are sharply-angled and thin, and several polyps may share a common wall. The palliform lobes are clearly visible on the oral disc and there are a small number of septa. This coral is often vividly coloured, with contrasting (often green) oral discs and brown, red or purple coenosarc, the living tissue that covers the skeleton between the polyps.

Favites pentagona is native to the Indo-Pacific region where it occurs in shallow tropical and subtropical seas. Its range extends from the Red Sea and South Africa to India, Indonesia, Japan and Australia, where it occurs both in Western Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. Its depth range is down to 25 m and it is common on rocky reefs, outer reef channels, reef slopes and lagoons.

Favites pentagona is a zooxanthellate species of coral. This means that it harbours symbiotic unicellular dinoflagellates in its tissues, which use the energy from sunlight to synthesize nutrients, from which the host coral benefits. It is an aggressive species of coral. At night it extends its polyps to feed on plankton, and expands its elongated sweeper tentacles armed with stinging cells well beyond the limits of its base, so as to avoid being crowded or overgrown by other organisms. It clears away sand that settles on its surface by inflating its polyps to dislodge the sediment.

F. pentagona is a simultaneous hermaphrodite, the eggs and sperm being released in well-formed bundles. In any one area, spawning tends to occur in synchrony, with all the corals liberating their gamete bundles at the same time. These rise to the sea surface and float, thus maximising the chance of successful fertilisation.

F. pentagona is susceptible to black band disease and white plague, two coral diseases which have become more common since the 1990s.

Favites pentagona has a very wide range and is common over much of that range. There is no precise information on population trends but this coral faces the same threats as other species; global warming, ocean acidification and degradation of its coral reef habitats. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

Source: Wikipedia: Favites pentagona — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favites_pentagona (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

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