Abstract: Species of reef corals are identified within lithologic units in the two Bahamas Drilling Project cores (Unda and Clino); species richness, frequencies of different colony shapes, and occurrences of indicator species are used to interpret reef environments. The results suggest that twelve Pliocene-Pleistocene coral-bearing units in the upper portions of Unda (26.2-180.8 m) were deposited under generally shallowing-upward conditions, ranging from intermediate (10-20 m) or deeper (> 20 m) forereef environments, to shallow (0-10 m) forereef environments, to shallow (0-10 m) and intermediate-depth (10-20 m) platform environments, in contrast, five Upper Miocene coral-bearing units in the lower portions of Unda (298.1-376.7 m) were deposited under generally deeper conditions, including (1) a small intermediate-depth (10-20 m) or deeper (20 to > 30 m) reefal unit and (2) intermediate-depth (10-20 m) to deeper (20 to > 30 m) forereef environments with large numbers of plate-shaped corals. Like the upper portions of Unda, eleven Pliocene-Pleistocene coral-bearing units in Clino (26.2-197.5 m) formed under shallowing-upward conditions, ranging from intermediate-depth (10-20 m) and deep (20 to > 30 m) forereef environments, to shallow (< 10 m) forereef environments, to shallow (< 10 m) or intermediate (10-20 m) platform environments. However, middle forereef deposits in the upper portions of Unda contain diverse assemblages dominated by Stylophora , whereas middle forereef deposits in Clino are dominated by Acropora . These interpretations generally correspond well with those based on lithology, and indicate that coral assemblages provide unique and important criteria for interpreting Late Cenozoic reefal deposits.