/ CoralsRed Sea life
Staghorn coral
Acropora hemprichii
The fastest-growing coral on the reef, and a whole town lives inside it.
- How often
- Common
- Group
- Corals
- Visible while snorkelling
- Visible while snorkelling
Branching thickets of cream and violet that look like antlers, growing up to fifteen centimetres a year, which is sprinting by coral standards. Each branch tip has one dominant polyp that controls the growth, which is why the shape stays so regular.
The thicket is habitat before it is anything else. Thousands of juvenile fish shelter inside a single colony, and a reef losing its staghorn loses the next generation of everything else with it.
Which species do you want to see?
Tell us the species and the date · the captain plans the boat around the conditions.