Giant whip coral
Cirrhipathes rumphii
Valid name (WoRMS, AphiaID 287833, checked 2026-10-31).
Possibly present in the Maldives
- English
- Giant whip coral
- Scientific
- Cirrhipathes rumphii
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Black corals
- IUCN status
- NE · Not EvaluatedNot Evaluated (NE)CITES Appendix II
- Record in the Maldives
- Possibly present
Description
A wire coral: a black coral that grows as a single, long, unbranched strand from walls and slopes. Its tissue is often yellow-green to brown and covered in small polyps. Wire corals are a favourite home for tiny gobies and shrimps, which divers look for along the strand. Telling Cirrhipathes species apart reliably needs microscopic study.
In the Maldives
Recorded from the Maldives: iNaturalist research-grade observations in the Maldives (n=5). Only one kind of evidence was found, so it is listed as possibly present.
Sources
- sealifebase.se /summary/Cirrhipathes-rumphii.html
- marinespecies.org /aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=287833
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Coral_alambre_(Cirrhipathes_rumphii),_Nosy_Tanikely,_Madaga
Dhivehi name source: No species-level Dhivehi name found in Dhivehi Wikipedia, SeaLifeBase (country: Maldives) or MRS/MMRI invertebrate publications.