--- title: "Staghorn Coral (Acropora cervicornis) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "An antler-shaped coral that can grow up to 8 inches of branch a year, yet lost 97 percent of its numbers to one disease." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/staghorn-coral-1.webp" published: "2026-10-11" updated: "2026-10-11" --- # Staghorn Coral (*Acropora cervicornis*) > **Status**: Checked against 3 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: An antler-shaped coral that can grow up to 8 inches of branch a year, yet lost 97 percent of its numbers to one disease. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Drum & Bass / Precision Jungle // Goldie, "Terminator" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/4XVQma0BQO46rxafUmHcGq) > **Vibe Match**: Staghorn coral is often dislodged: the pieces tumble to a new place on the reef, re-attach and keep growing. Jungle does that to a drum break, chopping it into fragments and rebuilding new patterns from them. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Acropora cervicornis* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Critically Endangered ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2022-2.rlts.t133381a165860142.en)) - **Superpower**: Grows up to 8 inches of branch a year, and broken pieces re-attach to start new colonies - **Habitat**: Typically clear, shallow reefs 15 to 60 feet deep across the Bahamas, Florida and the Caribbean - **Diet**: Food from photosynthetic algae inside its cells, plus plankton caught by its polyps' tentacles - **Tags**: cnidarian, coral-reef, ocean ## Natural History & Behavior ## Antlers made of animals A staghorn coral looks like a stag's antlers: its branches typically stem from a central trunk and angle upward, and are typically 1 to 3 inches thick. Colonies are golden tan or pale brown with white tips, and a single colony can grow to at least 4 feet tall and 6 feet across. It is not one creature. Each colony is made of many individual polyps, and each polyp is an exact copy of the others in the same colony. The colour comes from algae living inside its tissue. ## Fast, and in no hurry to die Staghorn coral is one of the fastest growing corals: when healthy, it can add up to 8 inches of branch length a year. It reaches reproductive maturity at about 7 inches tall. Each colony makes both eggs and sperm, but usually does not fertilize itself. Once a year, after the full moon in late summer, it releases eggs and sperm into the open water, called "broadcast spawning". NOAA lists its lifespan as up to hundreds of years. > **Reef tumbleweed** > NOAA compares staghorn corals to prairie tumbleweeds: they are often dislodged and tumble to a new place on the reef, where they can re-attach and keep growing. ## Where it lives and what it eats You typically find it in clear, shallow water, 15 to 60 feet down, on reefs throughout the Bahamas, Florida and the Caribbean. Palm Beach County, Florida, is the northern edge of its range. It gets food in two ways. Photosynthetic algae inside its cells feed it, and its polyps also capture plankton with their tentacles. Dense groups called thickets provide important habitat for other reef animals, especially fish. ## A reef zone that nearly vanished Staghorn coral was once so abundant that an entire reef zone is named for it. Starting in the 1980s, white band disease, which kills the coral's tissue, cut the population by 97 percent. Now it is rated Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. NOAA's species page lists it as Threatened under the US Endangered Species Act and as CITES Appendix II. NOAA has also designated four critical areas for it, off Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. NOAA calls ocean warming the greatest threat: it makes corals release their algae, which usually causes death. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How big does a staghorn coral colony get? NOAA says a colony can reach at least 4 feet (about 1.2 meters) tall and 6 feet (about 1.8 meters) across, with branches typically 1 to 3 inches thick. *(Source: [NOAA Fisheries]())* ### Is staghorn coral a plant? No. NOAA classifies it in the animal kingdom, phylum Cnidaria. The photosynthesis is done by algae that live inside the coral's cells and feed it. *(Source: [NOAA Fisheries]())* ### Why is staghorn coral so rare now? A severe disease event in the early 1980s caused major deaths across its range, and NOAA puts the population at less than 3 percent of its former size. It is hard to bounce back, because successful reproduction is very rare. *(Source: [NOAA Fisheries]())* ### Can staghorn coral resist the disease that nearly wiped it out? Some can. In a field study, 3 of 49 genotypes, six percent, resisted white band disease. *(Source: [Vollmer & Kline 2008]())* ## Sources 1. [Staghorn Coral. NOAA Fisheries.]() 2. [Crabbe et al. (2022). Acropora cervicornis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T133381A165860142.]() 3. [Vollmer & Kline (2008). Natural Disease Resistance in Threatened Staghorn Corals. PLoS ONE.]() *Published October 11, 2026. 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