Tubastraea tagusensis (Tagus Cove Cup Coral) is an azooxanthellate (lacks symbiotic algae) described from Tagus Cove, on Isla Isabela, in the Galapagos Islands. It is widespread and abundant in the Galapagos and has also been collected on Isla Socorro, off the Pacific coast of Mexico. Other Indo-Pacific records, off Palau, and in the Persian Gulf, have been considered doubtful (Creed et al. 2017). In 2000, T. tagusensis was collected off Ilha Grande, in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. On the Brazilian coast, this coral now occurs from Sao Paulo State (25°S) to Ceara State (2°S), often on shipwrecks and oil platforms, but also on rocky shores. In Brazil, it often replaces or overgrows native corals and sponges. In 2016–2019, T. tagusensis was collected at several oil exploration sites in the Gulf of Mexico, off Texas. The extent of its range in Gulf of Mexico waters is not known.