Montipora capricornis is a thin, plate-forming scleractinian coral (family Acroporidae) found across the Indo-Pacific, forming characteristic whorl-like or capricornian plate structures on deeper or shaded reef habitats that maximize light capture through photosymbiosis with Symbiodiniaceae. Like other Montipora species, it is an important reef contributor and faces threats from bleaching, sedimentation, and crown-of-thorns starfish predation. Genomic data have been generated for this species and are available in public databases, enabling comparative studies of cnidarian evolution and ecology.