Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Pocillopora capitata
coral pétreo, coral coliflor, Stony coral, cauliflower coral
Branches are tall and upright, almost cilindrical in section but becoming flattened at the tip.
Found on shallow rocky substrates, and particualrly common at Darwin and Wolf.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Cnidaria
Class
Anthozoa
Order
Scleractinia
Family
Pocilloporidae
Genus
Pocillopora
Species
capitata
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Native
Distribution: Found in Panamà, Gulf of California, Colombia, Ecuador(Galàpagos Island) and throughout the eastern Pacific. Within the Galapagos archipelago throughout, except Fernandina and W Isabela
- Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
- Banks, S. Vera, M. & Chiriboga, A. (2009) Establishing Reference Points to Assess Long-Term Change in Zooxanthellate Coral Communities of the Northern Galapagos Coral Reefs. J. Sci. Conserv. in the Galapagos Islands, p. 43-64.
- Hickman, C.P. Jr. Chiriboga, A., Ober, W.C. (2005) A field guide to corals of Galápagos. Sugar Spring Press, Lexington, Virginia, 54 pp.
- Hickman, C.P. Jr. (2008) A field guide to corals and other radiates of Galápagos. Sugar Spring Press, Lexington, Virginia, 162 pp.
- Hickman, C.P. Jr. (2009) Evolutionary Responses of Marine Invertebrates to Insular Isolation in Galapagos. Journal of Science and Conservation in the Galapagos Islands, p. 32-42.
- Pourtalés, L.F. (1875) Corals at the Galapagos Islands. American Journal of Science, series 3, 10: 282-283.
- Wells, J.W. (1983) Annotated list of the scleractinian corals of the Galápagos. In: Glynn, P.W. & Wellington, G.M.: Corals and coral reefs of the Galápagos Islands. University of California Press, Berkley, Los Angeles, London, 213-291 p.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Pocillopora capitata", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7899. Accessed 30 October 2026.