This species has a restricted range in New Caledonia and has an estimated area of occupancy (AOO) of less than 2,000 km² but greater than 500 km². In general, this species is relatively rare, but can be found in high densities in some localities. It is susceptible to major threats from habitat degradation due to sediment runoff from terrestrial mining activities. It is also moderately susceptible to impacts from bleaching events. It is assessed as Vulnerable B2ab(iii).

This species is endemic to New Caledonia. Reports from the Red Sea (DeVantier et al. 2000) require further taxonomic evaluation and these specimens might be designated as a different species. Reports of this species in Papua New Guinea and Australia are apparently misidentifications (B. Hoeksema pers. comm. 2021).

The depth range is ~5–30 m (Gilbert et al. 2015).

According to the 2018 UNEP-WCMC global coral reef distribution map, the area of coral reef from 0-30 m depth within the range of this species, or throughout New Caledonia, is 2,884 km². This naturally rare species is patchily distributed but widespread within this area and occurs in non coral dominated habitats, and therefore, its area of occupancy (AOO) is inferred to be less than 2,000 km² but greater than 500 km².

This species is rare (Veron et al. 2016, DeVantier and Turak 2017). According to Gilbert et al. (2015), this species may not occur commonly all around New Caledonia, but when it does occur, it may be in high densities of about 288 individuals per 50 m².

This species inhabits mostly hard substrata in silty and muddy habitats in sheltered bays and turbid, inshore lagoons with a unique coral assemblage. It attaches to hard substrates surrounded by metal-rich sediment and is more abundant on natural rock than on artificial substrates (Gilbert et al. 2015). This species appears to be tolerant of high turbidity and metal-rich environments. Individuals have been observed in relatively high densities in Grande Rade, a harbor from New Caledonia known to be polluted with high concentrations of iron, nickel, chromium, and manganese from a nearby nickel industry (Gilbert et al. 2015). Other fungiids are known to shed sediment, even when completely buried (Bongaerts et al. 2012), and so this species may use a similar mechanism to tolerate such environmental conditions (Gilbert et al. 2015). The maximum size is 7 cm diameter (Hoeksema 1989). 

While there is some information regarding the age in which corals reach sexual maturation, it is largely based on measurements of size as a proxy for age (Harrison and Wallace 1990), which can be problematic in modular animals because of processes such as partial mortality and fission (Hughes and Jackson 1980). Nonetheless, it appears that many brooding coral species tend to reach puberty at about 1-2 years of age, which is much earlier than many broadcast-spawners that become reproductive at 3-8 years or more (Harrison and Wallace 1990, Wallace 1999). Therefore, we assume that the average age of mature individuals on a given reef is greater than eight years. Furthermore, based on average sizes and growth rates, we assume that the average generation length is 10 years, unless otherwise stated. Total longevity is not known for any coral, but likely to be more than ten years. Therefore, any population decline rates for the Red List assessment are measured over at least 30 years.

The main threat to this species is mining activities causing sedimentation and habitat degradation. It is also moderately susceptible to bleaching. Predation from the crown-of-thorns on this species has not been reported. Predation by Acanthaster spp. may threaten this species by reducing its abundance, however, it is unclear to what degree (Lohe 2020). Based on disease surveys conducted in 2015 in New Caledonia, there were little disease impacts found in Fungiidae species (Aeby et al. 2015).

Another critical threat for this species, like for most coral species, is the extensive degradation and reduction of coral-reef habitat because of a combination of local and global threats (Hughes et al. 2017, Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2017, Donovan et al. 2021). The increasing threats from climate change are being further compounded by additional local stressors, such as pollution and overfishing (Knowlton and Jackson 2008, Lamb et al. 2018, MacNeil et al. 2019, Donovan et al. 2021). There is some evidence that this species has reduced vulnerability to thermal stress, however, the 2016 bleaching event affected two thirds of the Caledonian reefs (Meadows 2014, Lohe 2020). Bleaching can lead to coral mortality, which reduces coral cover, and hence reducing effective coral population as well as the disruption of coral reproduction and diminishment of coral recruitment, and therefore population turnover. 

Generally, the biggest threat to the persistence of corals is climate change (Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2017, Hughes et al. 2017, Sully et al. 2019), and more specifically - ocean warming and marine heatwaves that are leading to an increase in the frequency and intensity of events of anomalously high water temperatures (Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2019, Laufkötter et al. 2020). Under anomalously high temperatures, the symbiotic relationship between corals and their photosynthetic symbionts is disrupted, and many corals begin to bleach (Glynn 1996, Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 1999, Warner et al. 1999, Loya et al. 2001). Mass bleaching events resulting from thermal stress have become increasingly common in the last two decades and may lead to widespread coral mortality and changes in overall reef community over large areas (Loya et al. 2001, Graham et al. 2015, Hughes et al. 2018, Safaie et al. 2018, Stuart-Smith et al. 2018, McClanahan et al. 2019, Sully et al. 2019).

Superimposed on thermal stress and bleaching are additional stressors that can either directly threaten corals or exacerbate coral mortality after thermal stress (Kennedy et al. 2013, MacNeil et al. 2019, Abelson et al. 2020, Donovan et al. 2021, Knowlton et al. 2021). For example, increasing number of storms per season, overfishing, high levels of nutrients, and other kinds of pollution are steadily increasing in magnitude and threatening coral reefs (Wiedenmann et al. 2013, Zaneveld et al. 2016, MacNeil et al. 2019, Donovan et al. 2020). Moreover, in some localities, increased amounts of outbreaks of the corallivorous sea star, crown of thorns, can cause substantial damage to the reef, contributing to the overall decline and reef destruction (Saponari et al. 2015, Pratchett et al. 2017).

The prevalence of coral disease is also rising (Aronson and Precht 2001, Rosenberg and Loya 2004, Sutherland et al. 2004, Weil et al. 2012, Maynard et al. 2015), especially in the Caribbean (Aronson and Precht 2001, Precht et al. 2016, Aeby et al. 2019, Alvarez-Filip et al. 2019, Muller et al. 2020). The increasing spatial spread and extent of diseases are associated with ocean warming (Muller et al. 2008, Ruiz-Moreno et al. 2012, Randall and van Woesik 2015) and additional anthropogenic stressors (Vega Thurber et al. 2014, Maynard et al. 2015). The escalating impacts of global warming alongside the ongoing increases in local anthropogenic stressors and diseases are causing fundamental changes to coral reefs and place entire reef systems at a high risk of collapse.

Recommended conservation measures include specific localised habitat protection and awareness raising in the region. This species is considered in the U.S. Endangered Species Act (Meadows 2014).

All stony corals (Order: Scleractinia) are listed on CITES Appendix II, and under Annex B of the European Union Wildlife Trade Regulations. Moreover, several countries (e.g., India, Israel, Jordan, Djibouti, and the Philippines) at various stages have banned either the trade or the export of CITES II listed species, which includes all stony corals.

Parts of this species’ range overlaps with marine protected areas. Recommended measures for conserving this species include research in fields of taxonomy, demography, ecology and habitat status, reproduction and dispersal, threats, resilience, resistance, recovery, restoration actions, establishment and management of new protected areas, expansion of protected areas, recovery management, diseases, and pathogens.