AbstractEntire colonies ofStylophora pistillataandAcropora variabiliswere collected along a depth transect 100 m south of the Marine Biological Laboratory of Hebrew University Elat, Israel. The branch height ofAcropora variabilisdecreases significantly with respect to depth, and this species is equitably distributed from 5 to 30 m.Stylophora pistillatademonstrated no decrease in branch height with respect to depth and its distribution is limited to shallow water. The changes in morphology and distribution enhance the credibility of a suggestion made by Roos (1967) that corals common at all depths would show changes in morphology that minimized self‐shading.Stylophora pistillatademonstrated an increase in branch density with respect to depth. A hypothesis, based upon the occurrence ofLithophaga cumingianaand water turbulence, is presented to explain the increase in branch density with respect to depth ofStylophora pistillat