Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Pocillopora elegans
coral pétreo, coral coliflor, Stony coral, cauliflower coral
Colonies form compact clumps of uniform, thick and mostly upright branches with flattened ends.
Found in shallow rocky habitats.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Cnidaria
Class
Anthozoa
Order
Scleractinia
Family
Pocilloporidae
Genus
Pocillopora
Species
elegans
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Native
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Found in Panama, Gulf of California, Cocos, Malpelo, Line, Marquesas, Tuamotus, Pitcairn-Ducie, the central Indo-Pacific, far eastern Pacific and common throughout the Galàpagos Islands, 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.
- Durham, W.J. (1962) Corals from the Galapagos and Cocos Islands. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 32 (2): 41-56.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 elegans", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7902. Accessed 31 October 2026.