Mushroom leather corals
Sarcophyton
Genus-level entry: species are told apart only by microscopic features (sclerites). Valid genus (WoRMS, AphiaID 205483, checked 2026-10-31). Species recorded from the Maldives: Sarcophyton boettgeri, Sarcophyton ehrenbergi, Sarcophyton glaucum, Sarcophyton latum, Sarcophyton roseum, Sarcophyton trocheliophorum.
- English
- Mushroom leather corals
- Scientific
- Sarcophyton
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- IUCN status
- NE · Not EvaluatedNot Evaluated (NE) as a genus; most species not assessed
Description
Mushroom leather corals are firm, leathery soft corals with a short stalk and a wide, folded cap. When open, the cap is covered in polyps that give it a velvety look. Colonies are usually cream, yellow, brown or greenish and grow on reef flats, lagoons and shallow slopes, sometimes in large patches. Species are told apart only by examining their microscopic sclerites.
In the Maldives
Recorded from the Maldives: museum specimens (n=11); literature records via OBIS.
Sources
- marinespecies.org /aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=205483
- inaturalist.org /observations/119402744
Dhivehi name source: No species-level Dhivehi name found in Dhivehi Wikipedia, SeaLifeBase (country: Maldives) or MRS/MMRI invertebrate publications.