Soft corals & sea pens

Octocorals - colonial cnidarians with eight-fold polyp symmetry. Includes soft corals (Alcyonacea) and sea pens (Pennatulacea).

Last updated May 2026

Tree soft coralLitophyton sp.14 photos

Up to 50 cm5–40mRocky reef

A soft tree coral of Indo-Pacific reefs that inflates with water by day into a bushy, broccoli-like colony and deflates when not feeding.

Observed at

Ras Ghozlani(Sharm El Sheikh)Small Crack(Sharm El Sheikh)Jackfish Alley(Sharm El Sheikh)Gordon Reef(Sharm El Sheikh)Jackson reef(Strait of Tiran)

Carnation tree coralDendronephthya sp.13 photos

5–40mRocky reef

Translucent pink to red tree-shaped soft coral of Red Sea reefs, supported by spiky calcareous sclerites, that filter-feeds with its branches inflated.

Observed at

Rosalie Moller(Hurghada)Small Crack(Sharm El Sheikh)Jackson reef(Strait of Tiran)

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