What are leathery soft corals?
Leathery corals are soft corals that belong to the Family Alcyoniidae which has about 15 genera, the more commonly encountered ones on our shores being: Sinularia, Sacrophyton and Lobophytum. Together with the genera Alcyonium and Cladiella, these five genera make up the vast majority of octocorals found throughout the world. Features: A colony is made up of tiny polyps embedded in a shared leathery tissue. Members of the family may have two kinds of polyps. Autozooids have long stalks with eight tiny branched tentacles and emerge from the shared leathery tissue. Siphonozooids don’t emerge from the shared tissue and function as water pumps for the colony. They appear as tiny holes or bumps in between the taller autozooids. When the colony is out of water, the autozooid polyps are usually retracted completely into the shared tissue so that the entire colony appears smooth and leathery. Sometimes mistaken for sea anemones. When submerged, with the polyps expanded, the colony can appear r
