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Euphyllia paradivisa Coral

Euphyllia paradivisa Coral

Euphyllia paradivisa

Euphyllia Paradivisa coral illustration. Credit: Jack Hornady

Protected Status

ESA Threatened
Throughout Its Range

Quick Facts

Lifespan
Up to hundreds of years
Threats
Climate change (including ocean warming and ocean acidification), Diseases, Habitat degradation, Land-based sources of pollution, Small population size, Unsustainable fishing
Region
Pacific Islands
See Regulatory Actions

About the Species

Euphyllia paradivisa is a species of coral native to the Indo-Pacific Islands, distributed mostly in the Coral Triangle area (the Philippines to Timor Leste and east to the Solomon Islands). It is also found in the American Samoa. It prefers environments protected from surface wave action on fringing reef crests, mid-slope terraces, and lagoons at depths of 6 to 82 feet. Euphyllia paradivisa is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

NOAA Fisheries is committed to conserving and protecting Euphyllia paradivisa. Our scientists and partners use a variety of innovative techniques to study, learn more about, and protect this species.

Learn more about Euphyllia paradivisa (PDF, 3 pages)

Protected Status

ESA Threatened

  • Throughout Its Range

Where They Live

Euphyllia paradivisa can be found in the Indo-Pacific islands, distributed mostly in the Coral Triangle area (the Philippines to Timor Leste and east to the Solomon Islands), and in the American Samoa.

World map providing an approximate representation of Euphyllia paradivisa. World map providing an approximate representation of Euphyllia paradivisa.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Cnidaria
Class Anthozoa
Order Scleractinia
Family Euphylliidae
Genus Euphyllia
Species paradivisa

Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/29/2022

Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/29/2022

Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/29/2022

In the Spotlight

Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/29/2022

Management Overview

The Euphyllia paradivisa is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). It is also listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Recovery Planning and Implementation

Under the ESA, NOAA Fisheries is required to develop and implement recovery plans for the conservation and survival of listed species. NOAA Fisheries has developed a recovery outline to serve as an interim guidance document to direct recovery efforts, including recovery planning, for the 15 species of ESA-listed threatened Indo-Pacific corals (herein referred to as the 15 listed corals) until a full recovery plan is developed and approved. The recovery outline presents a preliminary strategy for recovery of the 15 listed corals and recommends high priority actions to stabilize and recover the species.

Recovery Planning Workshop

We held a recovery planning workshop for the 15 listed corals over the course of four 3-hour virtual sessions in May 2021. We announced the workshop in the U.S. Federal Register (86 FR 15650) on March 24, 2021, and it was open to the public. We held duplicate meetings for each session’s discussion points to accommodate participants from different time zones.

The purpose of the workshop was to connect stakeholders and experts from a range of relevant disciplines to:

  • Gather information and ideas on recovery approaches that address the challenges relevant to recovery of the 15 listed corals 
  • Develop recovery criteria that need to be met to delist each of the species 
  • Identify recovery actions to reduce and/or ameliorate threats to the 15 listed corals 

Participants represented a variety of areas of expertise from a range of relevant disciplines, including the listed coral species’ biology/ecology, threats to the species, the species’ habitat and ecosystem, recovery planning, and coral reef conservation and management.

Recovery Contacts

Critical Habitat Designation

Critical habitat only applies to U.S. waters. Of the 15 listed Indo-Pacific coral species, seven species have been recorded in U.S. waters (Acropora globiceps, A. jacquelineae, A. retusa, A. speciosa, Euphyllia paradivisa, Isopora crateriformis, and Seriatopora aculeata). Critical habitat was proposed for these seven species on November 27, 2020, in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas.

Learn more about the Pacific Islands proposed coral critical habitat

Critical Habitat Contact

5-Year Review

On January 7, 2021, we announced our intention to conduct 5-year reviews for the 15 listed Indo-Pacific coral species, as required by the ESA to ensure that the listing classifications of species are accurate.

Learn more about the Indo-Pacific reef-building corals 5-year review

5-Year Review Contact

Key Actions and Documents

Actions & Documents

Announcement of a Recovery Planning Workshop for the 15 ESA-Listed Indo-Pacific Corals

We are convening a workshop to solicit facts and information from stakeholders and experts to inform recovery planning for 15 species of threatened Indo-Pacific reef corals listed under the Endangered Species Act. We will not be asking for a consensus…
Information Gathering
,
Pacific Islands
Published

Initiation of a 5-Year Review of Indo-Pacific Reef-Building Corals

We, NOAA Fisheries, announce the initiation of a 5-year review for 15 Indo-Pacific reef-building corals (Acropora globiceps, Acropora jacquelineae, Acropora lokani, Acropora pharaonis, Acropora retusa, Acropora rudis, Acropora speciosa, Acropora tenella…
Information Gathering
,
Pacific Islands
Published

Proposed Rule to Designate Critical Habitat for the Threatened Indo-Pacific Corals

We, NOAA Fisheries, propose to designate critical habitat for the seven threatened corals in U.S. waters in the Indo-Pacific (Acropora globiceps, Acropora jacquelineae, Acropora retusa, Acropora speciosa, Euphyllia paradivisa, Isopora crateriformis, and…
Proposed Rule
,
Pacific Islands
Published

Listing of 20 Reef-Building Coral Species Under the ESA

We, NOAA Fisheries, are publishing this final rule to implement our final determination to list the following 20 species as threatened: five in the Caribbean (Dendrogyra cylindrus, Orbicella annularis, Orbicella faveolata, Orbicella franksi, and…
Final Rule
,
Pacific Islands
Southeast
Effective

More Information

Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/29/2022

Science Overview

Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/29/2022

Documents

Document

ESA-Listed Indo-Pacific Coral Species Recovery Planning Workshop Summary

Recovery planning workshop summary report that was held in May 2021 for the 15 U.S. ESA-listed Indo…

Pacific Islands
Document

15 Indo-Pacific Coral Species Recovery Outline

This document serves as an interim guidance document to direct recovery efforts for 15 Indo-Pacific…

Pacific Islands
More Documents

Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 04/29/2022