Fish identification archive / Smooth Star Coral

Smooth Star Coral

Solenastrea bournoni

Fun facts for your next surface interval

Its tentacles may extend during the day. [source]
It can occur in turbid shallow habitats. [source]
The corridor record is attributed to Key Largo, Florida. [source]

Florida and local context

Florent Charpin’s individual photograph page identifies Solenastrea bournoni and explicitly places that photograph at Key Largo, Florida.

A documented past record does not establish present abundance or guarantee an encounter.

Sources: Local occurrence record: Key Largo, Florida

How to recognize this animal

Massive domed colonies have conspicuous round corallite rims. Cream or tan surfaces can bear contrasting green or nearly colourless polyps.

Sources: Biology reference for Solenastrea bournoni

Size and life stages

The local identification guide lists 4 to 18 in. (10 to 45 cm). Its measurement axis and life-stage basis are not stated, so this is a guide value rather than a verified maximum, test diameter, arm span or harvest size.

Sources: Local occurrence record: Key Largo, Florida

Habitat and where to look

The coral atlas describes shallow turbid habitats, including reef lagoons and seagrass beds. These habitat categories are broader than the exact Key Largo photo locality.

Sources: Biology reference for Solenastrea bournoni; Local occurrence record: Key Largo, Florida

Range and local context

Corridor inclusion is based on Key Largo, Florida. Florent Charpin’s individual photograph page identifies Solenastrea bournoni and explicitly places that photograph at Key Largo, Florida. This is a documented occurrence, not a guarantee of a present-day encounter.

Sources: Local occurrence record: Key Largo, Florida

What is on the menu?

The sources checked for this draft do not establish this species’ particular prey or food proportions. A nearby organism in a photograph is not automatically a food item; no diet is inferred from a related species.

Daily habits and behavior

Long tentacles may extend during daytime, making the otherwise solid-looking colony appear ragged.

Sources: Biology reference for Solenastrea bournoni

Mating and the next generation

Species-specific courtship, egg development and local seasonal timing were not established by the accessed sources. This remains an evidence gap; a general life cycle for the wider group is not substituted for a documented account of this animal.

Look-alikes and identification traps

Solenastrea hyades is the atlas comparison. Distinguishing features should be checked at corallite scale rather than judged from colony colour.

Sources: Biology reference for Solenastrea bournoni; WoRMS: accepted identity

Observe without disturbing

Photograph the animal where it lives. Maintain buoyancy and keep fins, hands, lights and equipment clear of it and its substrate. Do not touch, feed, uncover, detach or reposition it. These observation practices do not grant permission to collect.

Harvest, protection and eating safety

Protected: no recreational take

Verified stony-coral harvest protection, not food clearance.

This color is a qualified summary, not permission to collect or a guarantee that a particular animal is safe to eat.

Can it be hunted or harvested?

Solenastrea bournoni is a stony coral (Scleractinia), a group whose recreational harvest FWC prohibits. Research or aquaculture authorizations are not ordinary recreational permission. Federal South Atlantic prohibited-coral and live-rock rules also apply where relevant.

Florida seasons and areas

No recreational take. Blue Heron Bridge mapped dive-site waters are closed to marine-life harvest; nearby Peanut Island records do not establish that exact location. Biscayne ornamental collection requires a superintendent permit. Its separate mapped fishing/possession closure is March 1–May 31, effective March 2026, with properly stowed continuous transit excepted. Key Largo Management Area prohibits collection of these invertebrates; lobster and commercial trap exceptions do not authorize their collection. Sanctuary Preservation Areas prohibit collecting. Check exact boundaries and current park requirements, including Pennekamp, before any take. General state rules do not override these areas.

Can it be speared?

Do not spear this protected organism. State and federal jurisdictions differ. FWC location restrictions and NOAA Key Largo spearfishing prohibition must be checked independently. Pennekamp is not a spearfishing allowance.

Is it safe to eat?

No exact-species food-safety clearance, meal frequency, or dated species-matched local menu evidence was verified. Recipes remain disabled. Collection legality is not evidence of edibility.

This review covers the Vero Beach–Key Largo Atlantic corridor: Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. Florida Atlantic state waters and South Atlantic federal waters are distinct jurisdictions. Do not extend a state-water season tag to federal waters or transfer Atlantic rules to Gulf-side Keys waters. Park and sanctuary boundaries can override a species allowance. FWC expressly states that its marine-life regulations apply in federal waters; this does not erase independent federal restrictions.

Before you act: Confirm the species, date, exact management area, state or federal waters, gear, licenses and current local closures. A local occurrence record never grants permission to take an animal.

Official rules and health guidance

Reviewed 2026-11-11. Rules and advisories can change; check the linked authorities before acting.

Identification and source cautions

Historical occurrence does not establish current abundance, colony survival, or a guaranteed sighting.
No original profile, harvest/legal review, artwork, or publishing has been completed for this candidate.
Observation date was not supplied. Identification follows the named photographer; the specimen was not independently reidentified.
A named diving area is given, not a particular reef or exact dive site.
The exact local photograph is attributed to its source and has not been independently reidentified for this draft.
Biological source access varies: some records were accessible only as an abstract or indexed passage. Independent claim review is required.
No cited photograph is reproduced or licensed by this draft.

Sources and review

Reviewed 2026-11-11; biological claims and this representative illustration independently checked. Photographs on cited sites are reference material and are not reproduced here.

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