Staghorn coral

Acropora cervicornis, the staghorn coral (Acroporidae), builds thickets of cylindrical branches 2.5–7.6 cm in diameter; healthy colonies exceed 2 m in height and width and grow about 20 cm a year, among the fastest rates of any western Atlantic reef coral. It occurs from Florida and the Bahamas through the Caribbean to about 20 m depth at 19–27 °C. Zooxanthellae supply up to 90% of its energy. IUCN assessed it as Critically Endangered in 2008 after declines exceeding 80%; Caribbean populations have fallen by about 97% since the 1980s, and the species is listed as threatened in the United States.