Cladopsammia gracilis is an azooxanthellate (non-photosymbiotic) scleractinian coral (family Dendrophylliidae) found in deeper, low-light reef and slope environments across the Indo-Pacific, obtaining nutrition entirely through heterotrophic feeding on plankton and particulate organic matter. Its colonies form small, phaceloid structures with elongated cylindrical corallites bearing large polyps that extend conspicuously in shaded habitats including caves and overhangs. Genomic data have been generated for this species and are available in public databases, enabling comparative studies of cnidarian evolution and ecology.