At a glance
- IUCN category
- VU · Vulnerable
- Animal group
- Invertebrates
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- FaunaHub record reviewed
- Checked against IUCN
- Sources disagree — IUCN's 2022 global assessment says Critically EndangeredChecked 2026-10-09 against IUCN's Red List export published 2026-07-28 · assessment
Conservation overview
Pillar coral is a distinctive coral that grows in tall, finger-like columns on Caribbean reefs. It is assessed as Vulnerable, and has declined sharply with disease.
Like all corals it is a colony of tiny animals living with symbiotic algae.
Range & habitat
Caribbean and western Atlantic reefs.
Major threats
Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.
- Warming-driven bleaching
- Coral disease
- Pollution and reef degradation
Why it matters
A distinctive reef-building coral hit hard by disease and warming, pillar coral is part of the wider Caribbean reef crisis and a focus of coral-restoration work.
Caribbean reef coral severely affected by stony coral tissue loss disease; confirm the current category on the live IUCN entry.
Sources
Sources for Pillar Coral
- IUCN Red List — look up Pillar Coral (authoritative status)
- NOAA Fisheries
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is pillar coral easy to recognise?
It grows in tall, rounded, finger-like pillars rising from the reef, unlike the branching or boulder shapes of many other corals.
Why is pillar coral Vulnerable?
Published assessments cite warming-driven bleaching, coral disease (which has spread rapidly in the Caribbean), and pollution and reef degradation. See the IUCN Red List.