Tree soft corals (Siphonogorgia)
Siphonogorgia
Genus-level entry: species are told apart only by microscopic features (sclerites). Valid genus (WoRMS, AphiaID 206094, checked 2026-10-31). Species recorded from the Maldives: Siphonogorgia mirabilis, Siphonogorgia variabilis.
- English
- Tree soft corals (Siphonogorgia)
- Scientific
- Siphonogorgia
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- IUCN status
- NE · Not EvaluatedNot Evaluated (NE) as a genus; most species not assessed
Description
Tree soft corals in the genus Siphonogorgia form stiff, tree-like colonies, often red, orange, yellow or pink, with polyps clustered at the branch tips. They have no symbiotic algae and grow in shaded, current-swept places: overhangs, walls and channel edges. Species are told apart only by microscopic features.
In the Maldives
Recorded from the Maldives: museum specimens (n=17); literature records via OBIS.
Sources
- marinespecies.org /aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=206094
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Siphonogorgia_godeffroyi_(Pink_soft_coral).jpg
Dhivehi name source: No species-level Dhivehi name found in Dhivehi Wikipedia, SeaLifeBase (country: Maldives) or MRS/MMRI invertebrate publications.