Species Type:
Corals, Invertebrates
Common Name(s):
Corky sea fingers
Size:
Corky sea finger colonies can grow up to 2 feet (24 inches) tall.
Diet:
Using its tentacles, corky sea fingers will catch and eat smaller marine organisms that drift by. Coral also have a special algae—called zooxanthellae– in their tissues that photosynthesize the sun's rays into energy/food.
Range & Habitat:
Corky sea fingers are common among shallow reef environments in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
Details:
Unlike hard corals, corky sea fingers are soft corals, meaning they do not build a calcium-based skeleton but rather a flexible internal structure. They have dense unbranched rods growing from a single base and can range in color from purple, gray, tan, brown to green and yellow.