Coral Skeleton "Mountainous Star"

Mountainous Star Coral, commonly known as Orbicella Faveolata, is a colonial stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It is native to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and is listed as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This species was formerly known as Montastraea Faveolata.

This type of coral forms in shallow waters in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, its range including Florida, the Bahamas, Venezuela and possibly Bermuda. It is found on both the back reef and fore reef slopes of fringing reefs at depths of up to 131 ft.