# Madrepora oculata

**Madrepora oculata** (Linnaeus, 1758), commonly called the zigzag coral, is a colonial stony coral (order [Scleractinia](https://www.edgepedia.org/scleractinia)) that lives in deep, cold water and builds three-dimensional reef frameworks together with its companion species *Lophelia pertusa* (now *Desmophyllum pertusum*). It is one of the most widespread scleractinian species and one of the roughly dozen framework-building deep-water corals with a cosmopolitan distribution.<sup>[1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=213639)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790323002944)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.corallosphere.org/genus/856.html)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | *Madrepora oculata* Linnaeus, 1758; Genbank common name: zigzag coral<sup>[1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=213639)</sup> |
| Depth range | Live records from 55 m off Brazil to almost 2,000 m south of the Reykjanes Ridge; 308–1,500 m in US waters<sup>[4](https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/IWM152.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/17609/noaa_17609_DS6.pdf)</sup> |
| Reef role | One of the two main reef-forming scleractinians along Atlantic European margins, co-occurring quasi-systematically with *Lophelia pertusa* at region, reef, and colony scales<sup>[6](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967064515002398)</sup> |
| Growth | In situ budding rates significantly higher than *L. pertusa*; linear extension of 10 ± 5 mm per year at a shallow Mediterranean site versus 6 ± 5 mm per year at a deeper site<sup>[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7047212/)</sup> |
| Microbiome | Bacterial community dominated by Spirochaetae and Tenericutes, stable across habitats<sup>[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7047212/)</sup> |
| Plastics | Growth and feeding were not affected by micro- or macroplastic exposure in a five-month aquarium study, unlike *L. pertusa*<sup>[8](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31323615/)</sup> |
| Mediterranean status | Assessed as Critically Endangered (CR A4c) in the Italian Red List, based on a population decline greater than 80% over the last 50 years<sup>[9](https://www.iucn.it/scheda.php?id=-1510971700)</sup> |

## Taxonomy and classification

Linnaeus described *Madrepora oculata* in the 10th edition of *Systema Naturae* (1758), and it is the type species of the genus *Madrepora*.<sup>[10](https://www.eu-nomen.eu/portal/taxon.php?GUID=urn%3Alsid%3Amarinespecies.org%3Ataxname%3A135209)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[11](https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/ocrd/350514.pdf)</sup> Traditional classifications placed the genus in the family Oculinidae, and databases such as NCBI and ITIS still list it there.<sup>[1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=213639)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[12](https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=53402)</sup> Molecular work has since shown that Oculinidae as traditionally circumscribed is polyphyletic. A 2024 study using microsatellite markers, ultraconserved elements, and exons proposed a new monogeneric family, Bathyporidae, to accommodate *Madrepora*; another 2024 analysis of the relationships among *Madrepora*, *Oculina*, and *Cladocora* concluded instead that the evidence supports placing *Madrepora* in the resurrected family Madreporidae Ehrenberg, 1834.<sup>[2](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790323002944)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[13](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38744497/)</sup> The same population-genetic study of 107 samples from three Southwestern Atlantic sedimentary basins also revealed a cryptic species, *M. piresae* sp. nov., living in sympatry with *M. oculata*.<sup>[2](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790323002944)</sup> A junior synonym, *Madrepora galapagensis* Vaughan, 1906, is recorded by ITIS.<sup>[12](https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=53402)</sup>

## Distribution and habitat

*M. oculata* is widely distributed in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is commonly found in association with *Lophelia pertusa*.<sup>[4](https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/IWM152.pdf)</sup> Live colonies have been recorded from 55 m off Brazil to almost 2,000 m south of the [Reykjanes Ridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/reykjanes-ridge), and a revision of azooxanthellate scleractinians gives a cosmopolitan distribution with a range of 80–1,500 m.<sup>[4](https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/IWM152.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[11](https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/ocrd/350514.pdf)</sup> In United States waters it is listed with a depth range of 308–1,500 m off the northeast, southeast, and northwest coasts.<sup>[5](https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/17609/noaa_17609_DS6.pdf)</sup>

Within reefs, the species shows habitat preferences. In the Lacaze-Duthiers canyon in the northwestern Mediterranean, *M. oculata* colonies grow abundantly on vertical cliffs near the canyon head, between about 300 and 480 m, where strong currents wash away sediments, while *L. pertusa* tolerates the more sediment-affected deeper floor; earlier reports likewise suggest *M. oculata* settles preferentially in areas of high topography with strong but irregular currents.<sup>[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7047212/)</sup> A transplant experiment between a deeper site (530 m) and a shallower site (380 m) in the same canyon found significantly higher skeletal growth at the shallower site, supporting the interpretation that *M. oculata* prefers the shallower habitat.<sup>[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7047212/)</sup>

## Role as a reef builder

Cold-water coral reefs are among the most species-rich bathyal ecosystems in the world's oceans, and *L. pertusa* and *M. oculata* act as ecosystem engineers forming their basis.<sup>[14](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967063715001028)</sup> Along Northeastern Atlantic European margins, from the [Bay of Biscay](https://www.edgepedia.org/bay-of-biscay) to Iceland, standardized video transect surveys in 2011 and 2012 found a quasi-systematic co-occurrence of the two species at nested scales and relative abundances supporting an equivalent importance of *M. oculata* and *L. pertusa* in terms of abundance and spatial extent; the authors concluded that the designation of "Lophelia reefs" may not fit most reefs along these margins, particularly at lower latitudes.<sup>[6](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967064515002398)</sup>

**Fragile framework.** *M. oculata* has fragile branches, which is why its framework-building capacity is thought to be limited; Irish survey syntheses note that its reef structure is more fragile than that of *L. pertusa* and does not occur as extensive frameworks where the latter dominates.<sup>[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7047212/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/IWM152.pdf)</sup> In the Mediterranean it is one of the two deep-reef-building species, together with *L. pertusa*.<sup>[9](https://www.iucn.it/scheda.php?id=-1510971700)</sup>

The two species also differ in feeding and metabolism. Both feed mostly on zooplankton, but lipid compositions and nitrogen isotopic signatures indicate different feeding strategies: *L. pertusa* is a more opportunistic suspended feeder, which may explain its more widespread reef occurrence, while *M. oculata* develops best where currents deliver food and remove sediment.<sup>[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7047212/)</sup>

## Growth and physiology

[In situ](https://www.edgepedia.org/in-situ) mark-and-recovery experiments in the Lacaze-Duthiers canyon measured budding rates and linear extension of transplanted fragments. *M. oculata* had a significantly higher budding rate than *L. pertusa* overall (p < 0.001), with the highest values at the shallower site (200 ± 80% for corals originating and remaining there, versus 100 ± 90% at the deeper site). Linear extension did not differ significantly between species overall, but non-transplanted *M. oculata* at the shallow site extended 10 ± 5 mm per year compared with 6 ± 5 mm per year at the deep site.<sup>[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7047212/)</sup> Polyp mortality was low when colonies were redeployed at their site of origin, but corals moved from the shallow to the deep site suffered average mortality of about 50%.<sup>[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7047212/)</sup> High sedimentation rates limit growth of these corals through strong polyp mortality, and the type of staining used in growth experiments itself affects measured growth.<sup>[15](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967063716302461)</sup>

**Microbiome.** Like other corals, *M. oculata* hosts a distinct bacterial community. Its microbiome is dominated by the phyla Spirochaetae and [Tenericutes](https://www.edgepedia.org/tenericutes) and remains stable across habitats, whereas *L. pertusa* carries a more variable community that shifts with location; transplanted *L. pertusa* acquired the microbial signature of local corals, while *M. oculata* conserved its own composition.<sup>[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7047212/)</sup> Species-specific bacterial associations have been confirmed in other studies of deep-water corals on the mid-Norwegian shelf.<sup>[16](https://academic.oup.com/femsec/article/95/7/fiz091/5519855)</sup> The two species also differ in growth, nutrition, reproduction, and bacterial community composition, which suggests different responses to environmental change, including ocean warming.<sup>[17](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8670956/)</sup>

**Response to plastic pollution.** A long-term aquarium study exposed both species to low-density polyethylene microplastics and to macroplastic films mimicking plastic bags trapped on deep-sea reefs. *L. pertusa* suffered impaired prey capture and growth after five months of microplastic exposure, while *M. oculata* growth and feeding were not affected by plastic exposure. The authors noted that such species-specific responses could severely change coral community composition and associated biodiversity in deep-sea environments.<sup>[8](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31323615/)</sup>

## Associated communities and paleo-history

Coral habitats modify the sediment around them. In the [Gulf of Mexico](https://www.edgepedia.org/gulf-of-mexico), macrofaunal communities in sediments near and beneath *M. oculata* habitats differ from those of *L. pertusa* and octocoral habitats; *M. oculata* background communities were the most distinct of the three habitat types, structured by high densities of Pseudotanaidae, Capitellidae, Leuconidae, and Cirratulidae.<sup>[18](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6055693/)</sup>

In the Mediterranean, compiled coral ages show that *L. pertusa* and *M. oculata* have occupied the basin for the past 14,000 years, with corals most prolific during the [Younger Dryas](https://www.edgepedia.org/younger-dryas) in the eastern Mediterranean and linked to high-productivity conditions and intensified intermediate water mass circulation.<sup>[14](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967063715001028)</sup>

## Conservation

Threats to cold-water coral reefs include trawling, pollution, and climate change.<sup>[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7047212/)</sup> In the Italian Red List assessment (published 2014), *M. oculata* was evaluated as [Critically Endangered](https://www.edgepedia.org/critically-endangered) (CR A4c) on the basis of a past population decline across much of its Italian range (Liguria, the Strait of Sicily, the [Tyrrhenian Sea](https://www.edgepedia.org/tyrrhenian-sea)) greater than 80% in the last 50 years, projected to continue because of habitat decline.<sup>[9](https://www.iucn.it/scheda.php?id=-1510971700)</sup> In Irish offshore waters, *L. pertusa* and *M. oculata* are the major reef-forming species of the Belgica Mound Province Special Area of Conservation and the North-west Porcupine Bank SAC.<sup>[4](https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/IWM152.pdf)</sup>

## References

1. [Madrepora oculata, NCBI Taxonomy Browser](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=213639)
2. [How long have we been mistaken? Multi-tools shedding light into the systematics of the widespread deep-water genus Madrepora Linnaeus, 1758 (Scleractinia), Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 191 (2024)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790323002944)
3. [Corallosphere: Madrepora oculata](https://www.corallosphere.org/genus/856.html)
4. [Forde, J., Alcock, L. & Grehan, A. (2024). Reef Habitat in Irish Offshore Waters, Irish Wildlife Manuals No. 152, NPWS](https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/IWM152.pdf)
5. [List of Deep-Sea Coral Taxa in US Waters, NOAA Repository](https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/17609/noaa_17609_DS6.pdf)
6. [Two "pillars" of cold-water coral reefs along Atlantic European margins, Deep-Sea Research Part I](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967064515002398)
7. [Chapron et al. (2020). Local Variability in Microbiome Composition and Growth Suggests Habitat Preferences for Two Reef-Building Cold-Water Coral Species, Frontiers in Microbiology 11:275](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7047212/)
8. [Long-term aquaria study suggests species-specific responses of two cold-water corals to macro- and microplastics exposure, Environmental Pollution (2019)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31323615/)
9. [Madrepora oculata, Lista Rossa IUCN (Italia)](https://www.iucn.it/scheda.php?id=-1510971700)
10. [PESI portal: Madrepora oculata Linnaeus, 1758](https://www.eu-nomen.eu/portal/taxon.php?GUID=urn%3Alsid%3Amarinespecies.org%3Ataxname%3A135209)
11. [Cairns, S.D. Scleractinia of the Temperate North Atlantic, VLIZ](https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/ocrd/350514.pdf)
12. [ITIS Report: Madrepora oculata, TSN 53402](https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=53402)
13. [Unravelling the relationships among Madrepora, Oculina and Cladocora (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Scleractinia), PubMed 38744497](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38744497/)
14. [Spatio-temporal distribution patterns of Mediterranean cold-water corals during the past 14,000 years, Deep-Sea Research Part I 103 (2015)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967063715001028)
15. [In situ growth experiments of reef-building cold-water corals, Deep-Sea Research Part I 121 (2017)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967063716302461)
16. [Diversity of deep-water coral-associated bacteria and comparison across depth gradients, FEMS Microbiology Ecology 95(7) (2019)](https://academic.oup.com/femsec/article/95/7/fiz091/5519855)
17. [Resilience of cold-water coral holobionts to thermal stress, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8670956/)
18. [The influence of different deep-sea coral habitats on sediment macrofaunal community structure and function, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6055693/)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Animals › Invertebrates › Other invertebrate lineages › Cnidarians and ctenophores › Anthozoans › Hexacorallia › Stony coral genera and species › Deep-water and ahermatypic stony corals*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*

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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license