Pillar Coral

Pillar Coral

Dendrogyra cylindrus

pillar coral illustration

Protected Status

ESA Threatened
Throughout Its Range

Quick Facts

Weight
Not relevant for corals
Lifespan
Up to hundreds of years
Threats
Climate change, including ocean warming and ocean acidification, Diseases, Land-based sources of pollution, Habitat degradation
Region
Southeast
See Regulatory Actions
Picture of a fish swimming through pillar coral.

About The Species

Pillar coral is a hard coral found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It often resembles fingers or a cluster of cigars, growing up from the sea floor. Pillar coral is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. 

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

Learn more about pillar coral

Protected Status

ESA Threatened

  • Throughout Its Range

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Cnidaria
Class Anthozoa
Order Scleractinia
Family Merulinidae
Genus Dendrogyra
Species cylindrus

In the Spotlight

Management Overview

Pillar coral is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. 

Recovery Planning and Implementation

The Recovery Outline is meant to serve as an interim guidance document to direct recovery efforts, including recovery planning, for pillar coral, rough cactus coral, lobed star coral, mountainous star coral, and boulder star coral.

Species Recovery Contacts

Jennifer Moore, Southeast Corals Recovery Coordinator
Alison Moulding, Southeast Corals Recovery Coordinator

Key Actions and Documents

Actions & Documents Incidental Take

Initiation of a 5-Year Review of Staghorn Coral, Elkhorn Coral, Pillar Coral, Rough Cactus Coral, Lobed Star Coral, Mountainous Star Coral, and

We, NMFS, announce a 5-year review of staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis), elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus), rough cactus coral (Mycetophyllia ferox), lobed star coral (Orbicella annularis), mountainous star…
Information Gathering
,
Southeast
Published

Proposed Rule to Designate Critical Habitat for the Threatened Caribbean Corals

We, NMFS, propose to designate critical habitat for the threatened Caribbean corals: Orbicella annularis, O. faveolata, O. franksi, Dendrogyra cylindrus, and Mycetophyllia ferox pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Twenty-eight…
Proposed Rule
,
Southeast
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

Science Overview

Documents

Document

5 Caribbean Coral Species Recovery Outline

This document serves as an interim guidance document to direct recovery efforts for pillar coral,…

Southeast
More Documents