Echinophyllia tarae

Echinophyllia tarae is a colonial stony coral in the family Lobophylliidae, forming encrusting to laminar skeletal structures typical of its genus. Like other Echinophyllia species, it is a zooxanthellate coral, hosting symbiotic algae that supply energy through photosynthesis while the coral polyps extend at night to capture plankton with their tentacles. Its skeletal surface typically bears the nodular or spiny corallite structures characteristic of the genus.

As a reef-building organism, it contributes to the physical structure of coral reef systems, providing habitat complexity that supports associated invertebrate and fish communities.

The species is found in the western and central Pacific, with records from French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Australia, and Fiji. It occupies marine neritic and coastal/supratidal habitats, generally on reef environments in shallow to moderate depths where light penetration supports its photosynthetic symbionts.

Echinophyllia tarae is threatened primarily by disease pressures linked to native pathogens and pest species, which can affect coral tissue health and colony survival. It also faces habitat shifting and alteration, likely associated with changing environmental conditions affecting reef substrate and water quality. These pressures compound the general vulnerability of reef-building corals to warming seas and shifting oceanographic conditions across its range.

Conservation of this species is largely addressed through broader marine protected area networks across its range states, alongside regional reef monitoring programs that track coral health and disease incidence. Its listing under the IUCN Red List supports its inclusion in international trade and conservation planning frameworks.

The population is assessed as decreasing, consistent with wider trends observed among reef-building corals facing cumulative stressors. Without mitigation of disease dynamics and habitat degradation, the species' conservation trajectory is likely to remain unfavorable.