Orbicella franksi
A threatened Caribbean coral recorded by NOAA
“For a long time, people thought I was the same as my two relatives. But I was a little different. My surface was uneven, and the tiny parts that covered me did not all look the same. It took a long time for people to see me clearly and give me my own name. I used to be common on this reef. I grow slowly, but I live a long time, helping build the reef little by little. Then disease came, and the water grew too warm. Big colonies became smaller, and living parts of me began to disappear. I still try to make new life after the full moon. But the reef is not the same now. And the place where I used to be is growing quieter.”