Red coral

Corallium rubrum

Size: 5–30 cm · 5–500 g
Diet: Filter Feeder
Activity: Cathemeral
Sociality: Colony
Lifespan: —

Red coral is a precious coral that forms colonies on dim rocky reefs and is valued for its red skeleton. Harvest for jewelry makes careful management important, including deeper colonies.

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Key facts

Red coral (Corallium rubrum) is a filter feeder animal classified as Invertebrate · Scleralcyonacea · Coralliidae.
Primary habitats are coral reef · coast · open ocean, with a range across Atlantic Ocean · Palearctic.
Activity is cathemeral, sociality is colony, and conservation status is DD (Data Deficient).
Red coral is a precious coral that forms colonies on dim rocky reefs and is valued for its red skeleton.
It grows on dim rocky bottoms, cave walls, and drop-offs in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic.

Sources

wikidata.org

Range

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Details

Habitat

It grows on dim rocky bottoms, cave walls, and drop-offs in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic. Main habitat types in this guide are reef, coast, ocean.

Appearance

Typical length 5-30 cm, weight 5 g-500 g. White polyps sit on a branching red skeleton as the colony grows.

Behavior

It is active in repeated bouts across day and night and colonial or group-living. Attached to rock, it extends tentacles into currents to capture drifting particles.

Feeding

It is a filter feeder. Polyps filter plankton and fine organic particles from moving water.

Reproduction

Colonies grow slowly, and larvae drift before settling on suitable rock.

Notes

Information is limited, and distribution or population status remains difficult to assess. Harvest for jewelry makes careful management important, including deeper colonies.