At a glance
Data from the scientific sources listed at the bottom.
Depth in the wild
2–40 m
Size
up to 40 cm
usual maximum colony diameter according to Sheppard (1998), referring to a single region
Conservation
IUCN Red List: least concern (2023). CITES: Appendix II. Red List data taken from SeaLifeBase and GBIF. 3 4 Older lists gave it as Near Threatened. 15 16 The CITES listing covers all Scleractinia since 18 January 1990, excluding fossils. 2
Where it lives
WoRMS gives it in the western Indo-Pacific, with records from the Red Sea, East Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Maldives, Chagos, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Kingman Reef. 1 Species+ adds, among others, Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Fiji and Tonga. 2 In American Samoa it is confirmed by photographs. 16
The coral
Growth form: submassive to massive, with winding valleys about 15-25 mm wide; young colonies can have a stalk 5-6 cm tall 1
Zooxanthellae: yes
How to recognise it
Tap a number on the photo: the key explains what to look for.
Life in the wild
Where it is found
It is tied to sheltered caves and crevices, where it grows on vertical walls or under overhangs; large colonies are sometimes found on flat bottoms in partly turbid water. It is usually uncommon. 1 Richmond gives it on sheltered reefs. 1 In the Gulf of Thailand it was recorded at 3-20 m 10 11, at Wingate Reef (Red Sea, Sudan) at 2-40 m 10 12 and in the Maldives at 26-30 m. 7
What it eats
It hosts zooxanthellae, and according to Sheppard the vesicles serve for photosynthesis. 1 The algae analysed belong to clades C (C1, C3, C3u) and D (D1, D1a) at Rib Reef, in the Andaman Sea and in Zanzibar. 10 13 14 Its zooxanthellae are less dense in the tentacles than in Goniopora lobata, which keeps them always extended. 5
Behaviour
By day it displays its vesicles, which retract slowly if disturbed; the polyps extend only at night. 1 In experiments the tentacles contracted mainly under blue-green light at 400-520 nm. 5 Over the day the enzymes that protect the tissues from oxygen damage follow the pattern of sunlight. 6
In the aquarium
From the experience of the BallingMania community.
Place of origin: the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, and the Samoa Islands.
Habitat: it is found on the lower slopes of the coral reef. They have no particular light requirements. They can be found in poorly lit areas, in almost total shade, or in shallower water, but all the habitats where it lives have turbid water. This coral has tentacles like oval bubbles called vesicles; these bubbles stay extended during the day but contract at night to release thread-like tentacles up to 4/5 cm long, used for catching prey. The tentacles are armed with very stinging nematocysts, which are useful for keeping neighbouring stony corals away in the struggle for living space. There are several species of this coral, but the two most widespread in the aquarium hobby are Plerogyra sinuosa and Plerogyra flexuosa. The ideal conditions for this coral are a well-established reef aquarium. This species is fairly adaptable to different lighting ranges, but it cannot stand intense, direct lighting; rather, depending on the specimen, it thrives in low to moderate light. It needs gentle water movement. Water quality must be very good, with stable chemical values and an organic and inorganic load that is not excessively high. It copes badly with aquariums with nuisance algae that can attack the exposed calcareous areas and smother the coral. In captivity it can be fed plankton or small portions of frozen Artemia: just place them gently among the bubbles shortly before the lights go out; it also accepts granular food.
Species sheet by Massimo Ramogino Photo by Loredana Prologo Coral by Davide
What studies say about keeping it
Laboratory data, not advice for the tank. A study on growing corals under LED lights notes that, with light at 400-540 nm and 30 micromoles of photons per square metre per second, the tentacles contracted completely within 1-2 days. 17 The specimens in a genetic study came from a Chinese coral mariculture company, with stock originally from Sabah, in Malaysia. 8
Did you know?
Sources
- Hoeksema B.W., Cairns S., Samimi-Namin K. (2026). Plerogyra sinuosa (Dana, 1846). World Register of Marine Species.
- UNEP-WCMC (2026). Plerogyra sinuosa, CITES record. Species+.
- SeaLifeBase (2026). Plerogyra sinuosa, stato IUCN. SeaLifeBase.
- GBIF Secretariat (2026). Plerogyra sinuosa, IUCN Red List category. GBIF.
- Levy O., Dubinsky Z., Achituv Y. (2003). Photobehavior of stony corals: responses to light spectra and intensity. Journal of Experimental Biology.
- Levy O., Achituv Y., Yacobi Y.Z., Dubinsky Z., Stambler N. (2006). Diel 'tuning' of coral metabolism: physiological responses to light cues. Journal of Experimental Biology.
- Amjad F. et al. (2024). An underwater imagery identification guide for shallow, mesophotic and deep-sea benthos in Maldives. Biodiversity Data Journal.
- Tian P., Jia Z., Cao B., Wang W., Xiao J., Niu W. (2022). Complete mitochondrial genome sequences of Physogyra lichtensteini and Plerogyra sinuosa (Scleractinia, Plerogyridae). ZooKeys.
- Horká I., De Grave S., Fransen C.H., Petrusek A., Ďuriš Z. (2016). Multiple host switching events shape the evolution of symbiotic palaemonid shrimps. Scientific Reports.
- Coral Trait Database (2026). Plerogyra sinuosa, Coral Trait Database data. Coral Trait Database.
- Titlyanov E.A., Latypov Y.Y. (1991). Light-dependence in scleractinian distribution in the sublittoral zone of South China Sea Islands (record in the Coral Trait Database). Coral Reefs.
- Kühlmann D.H.H. (1983). Composition and ecology of deep-water coral associations (record in the Coral Trait Database). Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen.
- LaJeunesse T.C. et al. (2004). Closely related Symbiodinium spp. differ in relative dominance in coral reef host communities (record in the Coral Trait Database). Marine Ecology Progress Series.
- LaJeunesse T.C. et al. (2010). Long-standing environmental conditions, geographic isolation and host-symbiont specificity influence the relative ecological dominance and genetic diversification of coral endosymbionts in the genus Symbiodinium. Journal of Biogeography.
- Lee J.N. et al. (2022). Scleractinian coral diversity of the Mersing Islands, Peninsular Malaysia. ZooKeys.
- Montgomery A.D., Fenner D., Toonen R.J. (2019). Annotated checklist for stony corals of American Sāmoa with reference to mesophotic depth records. ZooKeys.
- Cheng C.M. et al. (2022). Effects of LED Light Illumination on the Growth, Digestive Enzymes, and Photoacclimation of Goniopora columna in Captivity. Animals.
Sources checked on 5 November 2026. Community texts and ratings are kept separate from the scientific data.
