Welcome to Corals of the Western Indian Ocean

The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) is one of the least known of the world’s oceans. The biodiversity of the region is among the least known globally, with recent reviews demonstrating the near-total lack of documentation or knowledge in taxonomy, systematics and biogeography in key taxa across the Indian Ocean.

The purpose of this website is to make available an image database of underwater photographs of hard corals, collected on multiple expeditions starting in 2002 from diverse parts of the Western Indian Ocean, and peripheral areas.

It is targeted at people who want to verify or check their underwater identifications of corals against a comprehensive suite of photos showing the appearance of each species across this region.

Comments are welcome, in particular to correct any errors and/or add location details for confirmed sightings.