Cat’s Paw Coral, Pocillopora damicornis
Cat’s Paw Coral, Pocillopora damicornis. Underwater photographs taken in Banderas Bay, Puerta Vallarta, Jalisco, July 2026. Photographs and identifications courtesy of Greg Timms, youtube.com/@CoralmasterdivesPuertoVallarta/videos.
Phylogeny: The Cat’s Paw Cauliflower Coral, Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus, 1758), is a member of the Pocilloporidae Family of Stony Coral. The Pocillopora Genus is one of four genera in the Pocilloporidae Family and there are twenty-three species in the Pocillopora Genus. The genus name Pocillopora comes from the Greek words meaning “many-colored pores” referring to the diverse appearance of corals in this genus. The Latin word damicornis means “antlers like a fallow deer”. They are also known as the Deer Horn Coral, and the Lace Coral and, in more generic terms, as Cauliflower Coral and in Mexico as Coral Pétreo and Coral Coliflor.
Morphology: Cat’s Paw Coral is highly branched and forms clumps that may be compact, or more open, depending on their environment. Unlike other species of the genus, the verrucae (wart-like projections) are irregularly arranged and they intergrade with the branches. The corallites (hard cup-like structures that hold the polyps) measure less than 1 mm across, and are found both on, and between, the verrucae. Cat’s Paw Coral varies in color from pale brown, yellowish brown, pinkish or greenish. Cat’s Paw Coral is a reef building coral, with successive generations building on the skeletons of earlier generations. The individual clumps may reach several meters across and 30 cm (12 inches) in height. The Cat’s Paw Cauliflower Coral may be confused with the Warty Cauliflower Coral, Pocillopora verrucosa, which has blunter, bump-like, branches.
Diet: Cat’s Paw Coral has a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae (single-cell dinoflagellates). Zooxanthellae live within certain coral polyps, sea anemones, jellyfish, and nudibranchs. They produce energy by means of photosynthesis and the energy is passed along to their hosts, sometimes providing the majority of the host’s total energy needs. In return, the host provides nutrients, carbon dioxide, and a secure, sunlit, platform for the zooxanthellae. During periods of chemical or thermal stress the corals can eject the zooxanthellae to reduce metabolic stress. This causes the coral to appear white. This process is known as coral bleaching. Coral bleaching can be an indicator of an unhealthy environment, or a natural response to a short-term condition such as El Niño. The coral will replace the zooxanthellae after the stress is resolved, or it will acquire a different species of zooxanthellae that is better accommodated to the new environment. In either case, the polyp risks starvation if it is unable to replace the zooxanthellae quickly. Cat’s Paw Corals supplement the energy provided by zooxanthellae by using their tentacles to capture amphipods and other plankton from the surrounding water. The tentacles then pass the food to the mouth.
Predation: Cat’s Paw Coral polyps are preyed upon by crabs, fish, gastropods, sea stars and polychaete worms.
Ecosystem Interactions: Cat’s Paw Corals host a variety of organisms in a commensal relationship, including: brittle stars, crabs, fish, gastropods, small octopus, shrimp, and worms. These animals find shelter between the branches of this coral. The Rusty Guard Crab, Trapezia bidentata, is often found in its branches having a symbiotic relationship with the coral. The crab eats coral mucus and is protected by living within the coral branches and in turn the coral is fiercely defended from hungry predators like the Crown-of-Thorns, Ancanthaster planci.
Human Interactions: Cat’s Paw Cauliflower Coral has a wide application in the aquarium trade due its easy propagation and adaptable nature. Historically it has also been harvested for sale as curios or souvenirs or to make lime for concrete production. It is now protected from harvest in most areas. Otherwise, Cat’s Paw Coral has a very limited impact on human activities. They are vulnerable to damage from boat groundings, improper anchor usage, coral bleaching, disease, and unnaturally high populations of the Ancanthaster planci. From a conservation perspective the Cat’s Paw Cauliflower Coral has not been formally evaluated but it is common, wide-spread and should be considered to be of Least Concern.
Synonyms: Acropora damicornis, Madrepora damicornis, Millepora damicornis, Pocillopora caespitosa laysanensis, Pocillopora caespitosa stylophoroides, Pocillopora caespitosa tumida, Pocillopora cespitosa, Pocillopora cespitosa f. laysanensis, Pocillopora cespitosa f. stylophoroides, Pocillopora cespitosa f. tumida, Pocillopora damicornis cespitosa, Pocillopora damicornis var. caespitosa, Pocillopora damicornis var. cespitosa, Pocillopora diomedeae, and Pocillopora lacera.