More than 600 species of reef-building corals are found in the Coral Triangle.
The Coral Triangle is a vast marine region centered on Indonesia and the Philippines and extending through Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste. It is widely regarded as the global centre of tropical marine biodiversity, containing roughly three-quarters of the world’s known reef-building coral species.
Its exceptional diversity comes from the meeting of the Indian and Pacific oceans, complicated island geography, strong currents, and long-term geological stability. These conditions create many habitats and help disperse coral larvae between reefs. The region includes famous biodiversity hotspots such as Raja Ampat and Indonesia’s Bird’s Head Peninsula, where individual areas can contain remarkably large numbers of coral species.
The exact count varies as scientists revise species identifications and discover or split taxa, which is why “over 600” is a useful rounded figure rather than a permanent census. The Coral Triangle is also home to more than 3,000 bony fish species, six of the world’s seven marine turtle species, and a major share of global reef-fish diversity.