How many species of stony corals are found in Hong Kong waters?

In the heart of the tropical Indo-Pacific, there are over 200 species of stony corals on a single reef. Some sites may house as many as 300 to 400 species of stony corals.

Under the influence of local weather, hydrological conditions and anthropogenic perturbations, there are 84 species of reef-building corals from 28 genera and about 10 species of non-reef-building corals from 4 genera.

Those coral species can tolerate wide annual fluctuations in water temperature and salinity as well as periodic typhoons and monsoon. The dominant species are mainly encrusting or massive faviids and poritids.

Favites abdita	Turbinaria sp. Hydnophora exesa
Platygyra sp.	Goniopora columna Favia speciosa

Some of the common coral species found in HK