soft corals text index | photo index
Phylum Cnidaria > Class Anthozoa > Subclass Alcyonaria/Octocorallia > Order Alcyonacea > Family Alcyoniidae
Smooth leathery coral
awaiting identification*
Family Alcyoniidae
updated Oct 08

Where seen? This large pink leathery coral is commonly seen on our Southern shores. On coral rubble. With the polyps retracted, the surface of the leathery tissue is quite smooth. When exposed at low tide, those with finger-like shapes may look like a pile of discarded rubber gloves!

Features: Colony 20-50cm or larger. Sometimes several colonies near one another. The colony has a broad short central column that divides into short sturdy branches tipped with rounded or finger-like structures. The leathery common tissue is pale pink or orange sometimes lilac.

Cyrene Reef, Mar 07
The surface of the common leathery tissue is smooth as there are only autozooid polyps and no siphonozooids. The autozooid polyps are tiny (0.5cm or smaller) with a short body column and 8 branched tentacles. The polyps may be the same colour as the common tissue or darker.

Smooth leathery corals on Singapore shores

Sentosa, Aug 05


Pulau Hantu, Feb 08

more photos of smooth leathery corals on Singapore shores
part 1 | part 2


*Species are difficult to positively identify without close examination.
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