''Goniopora stokesi'' is a species of colonial stony coral. As with other species in genus '' Goniopora'', it has the common names 'flowerpot coral' and 'daisy coral'. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorises its status as near threatened.

Description

''Goniopora stokesi'' is found widely across the northern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. In roughly clockwise order: from Madagascar and the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...

in the west, through the Maldives and southern India, through the East Indies, up to Japan, and down to northern parts of Western Australia, and to the Great Barrier Reef in the east. This citation includes an excellent collection of photographs. It has been described as usually uncommon but conspicuous, but sometimes locally common. It has been reported at depths of , less commonly at . It is usually free-living; that is, not attached to a fixed substrate. Colonies are often found on sandy bottoms, in turbid and relatively still waters. They are usually hemispherical, and often have satellite (daughter) colonies which have not yet budded off. ''Goniopora stokesi'' has a reputation among

aquarist An aquarist is a person who manages aquariums, either professionally or as a hobby. They typically care for aquatic animals, including fish and marine invertebrates. Some may care for aquatic mammals. Aquarists often work at public aquariums. They ...

s both of being readily available commercially, and of being difficult to maintain in The aquarium trade may be one reason why the species is under threat. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''stokesi'' may be in honour of Charles Stokes ( - 1853), a respected English amateur malacologist. It would be necessary to consult the original paper describing the species (which does not seem to have been digitised) to settle the matter.

References

* * Poritidae Corals described in 1851 Taxa named by Henri Milne-Edwards Taxa named by Jules Haime {{scleractinia-stub