Photo by Mike White

Boulder brain coral colonies (of millions of tiny coral polyps) form in large rounded domes in sizes from 1.5-7 feet across. Their surface is covered with a maze of convoluted ridges and valleys. The ridges are typically brown, and the valleys green, tan, or white. Boulder brain coral lives between 2-175 feet deep.

Boulder Brain Coral
(Colpophylia natans)

	South Florida, Bahamas, and the Caribbean
	Reefs
	Nutrients provided by symbiotic algae, planktonic animals
The status of this species is representative of the populations within the waters of this Sanctuary only, not global populations.
	Unlike many other corals, boulder brain corals are able to hold their ground in storms that pound other corals to rubble.
	- National Marine Sanctuary Program