Pocillopora elegans

Classification (WoRMS)

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

Accepted name: Pocillopora elegans · Authority: Dana, 1846 · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 206956.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=206956 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)

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

Depth range: 0–18 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated.

SeaLifeBase notes: Found in shallow reef environments (Ref. 847).

Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 45587) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Pocillopora-elegans.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

351 georeferenced occurrence records for Pocillopora elegans are published through GBIF from 14 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 47 distinct locations from a sample of 351 records, omitting 9 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: Colombia (190); Mexico (94); Ecuador (26); Japan (9); French Polynesia (8); Marshall Islands (7); Kiribati (5); Micronesia (Federated States of) (3); Fiji (2); France (2); Guam (2); American Samoa (1); Panama (1); Singapore (1).

Marine regions with a valid WoRMS distribution record: Madagascar; Mauritian Exclusive Economic Zone; Mozambican Exclusive Economic Zone; Indo-Pacific; Marshall Islands Exclusive Economic Zone; Fijian Exclusive Economic Zone; Costa Rican Exclusive Economic Zone.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2259461) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2259461&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=206956 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Pocillopora elegans Dana, 1846 as Endangered (code EN). 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 133099) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/133099/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2259461) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2259461/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-25.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

P. elegans forms small clumps of short, thick, mostly erect branches with flattened tips. The surface of the coral has smooth rounded lobes known as verrucae (lumpy skeletal outgrowths that include several corallites) which give this genus of corals their characteristic appearance.

The corallites are flat and very small and scattered over the surface of the skeleton. This coral varies in colour, often being some shade of cream, pink or greenish-brown. Similar species are Pocillopora verrucosa, which has rougher verrucae, Pocillopora grandis and Pocillopora capitata.

P. elegans is native to the tropical Pacific Ocean. Its range extends from peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra through the Central Pacific to Mexico, Central America, the Galapagos Islands and Colombia. It is found in shallow reef environments at depths down to about 20 m.

P. elegans has a wide range and is common over much of its range, but it is particularly susceptible to bleaching, coral diseases and predation by the crown-of-thorns starfish. Before the 1982–1983 El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event, it was, along with Pocillopora damicornis, one of the strongest and most vigorous species of reef-building corals in the eastern Pacific, but after the event, it had disappeared from many of its previous locations, although there has since been some recruitment in Costa Rica, Panama and the Galapagos Islands. In general, the reefs where it lives are under threat, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed its conservation status as being endangered.

Source: Wikipedia: Pocillopora elegans — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocillopora_elegans (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.