Scleralcyonid soft corals [Scleralcyonacea]

Description

Divers may notice these soft corals as branching or bushy colonies that sway gently in the current. They often look like delicate, fleshy “sea fans” or knobby growths, sometimes with a slightly translucent or textured surface. In clear water, small reef fish and invertebrates may shelter among their branches.

Families

Blue Coral

Helioporidae

Sea Pansies

Renillidae

Taxonomy