Giant Alcyonary

This giant alcyonaire is hung under an overhang at the end of the drop off of “Cathedral”.

It grows and grows bigger visibly and must measure more than 1,50 m in height. The central part of its body exceeds 25 cm in diameter.

I have never seen one so big.

After research I have not managed to give it a precise name but a priori it could be that (if you have information I am interested):

Soft coral, which swells with water, hence its translucent appearance. Its very beautiful pink to purple colors come from the large calcareous needles, called sclerites, scattered on the surface of its body and at the base of the polyps. This makes the whole thing thorny and protects it from predators. The polyps have eight tentacles: octocoral. The colony branches out like a tree and can grow to a large size, up to 70cm high.

Unlike other coral species, Alcyonarians Dendronephthya are herbivores, feeding on phytoplankton. This is due to the inability of stinging cells called cnidoblasts to completely paralyze the escaping planktonic larvae. It is difficult to distinguish the different species of Dendronephthya