Invertebrates
Pillar Coral
Dendrogyra cylindrus · also called pillar corals
Rising in tall, finger-like columns from the reef floor, a pillar coral colony keeps its polyps extended even in broad daylight, a distinctive fuzzy texture unlike almost any other coral nearby. Disease has already claimed a devastating share of colonies like this one across the Caribbean in recent years.
Overview
The pillar coral, Dendrogyra cylindrus, is a distinctively shaped reef-building coral native to the Caribbean Sea and western Atlantic. Its unusual upright, finger-like growth form and daytime-extended polyps once made it a recognisable feature of Caribbean reefs, though disease has since pushed the species to the edge of extinction.
A distinctive shape now becoming rare
The same tall, columnar growth form that once made pillar coral instantly recognisable on Caribbean reefs has done nothing to protect it from disease, and colonies that took decades to grow are now disappearing faster than the species can replace them.
Status
Critically Endangered — devastated by stony coral tissue loss disease across much of its Caribbean range, compounded by broader coral reef threats.
Pillar Coral: common questions
Why is the pillar coral shaped so differently from other corals?
A pillar coral colony grows in distinctive tall, cylindrical, finger-like columns that rise upward from the seafloor, a growth form that sets it apart from the flatter, branching, or rounded shapes typical of most other reef-building coral species, giving reefs with pillar coral a genuinely different visual texture.
Why does the pillar coral keep its polyps out during the day?
Unlike most stony coral species, which generally retract their polyps during the day and extend them only at night to feed, a pillar coral often keeps its polyps extended even during daylight hours, giving the colony a distinctively fuzzy, textured appearance that persists around the clock rather than only after dark.
Why is the pillar coral critically endangered?
Pillar coral populations have suffered dramatic declines due to stony coral tissue loss disease, a lethal condition that has devastated colonies across much of the species' Caribbean range in recent years, combined with broader coral reef threats such as ocean warming and bleaching.
Where does the pillar coral live?
The pillar coral is native to coral reef habitat across the Caribbean Sea and parts of the western Atlantic, generally found on the outer edges of reef structures where its tall, upright growth form can access favourable water flow and light conditions.