Soft Coral Dendronephthya spp.
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Soft Coral Dendronephthya spp. Once you dive deeper into Hong Kong鈥檚 water, you will find yourself submerged in a world of colorful, soft and tendering corals. 聽This species of soft corals, Dendronephthya spp., which can grow into glomerate, divaricate or umbrellate form belongs to the sub-Class Octocorallia.聽They are characterized by its eight pinnate tentacles and internal calcareous skeletal elements called sclerites and can often grow to sizes over 1m in diameter and height. 聽With the presence of red or yellow sclerites embedded in the tissues, their eye-catching colors have turned them into one of the favorites of underwater photographers.
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Unlike stony corals, Dendronephthya spp. lack symbiotic zooxanthallae and thus do not depend on photosynthesis for producing food.聽This allows them to inhabit deeper water with lower light attenuation聽With the aid of their contractable tentacles, they actively filter and feed on phytoplankton, protozoa and particulate organic carbon from the water which travels in close proximity to them 聽As a matter of fact, waters with stronger current would favor their feeding behavior that would bring more food in contact with these corals.聽
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Profile Name in Chinese:聽嫺烽洖鍐���
Phylum:聽Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Subclass:聽Octocorallia
Family:聽Nephtheidae
Genus/ Species:聽Dendronephthya spp.
Site of discovery:聽Tung Ping Chau Marine Park
Status:聽Common
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