Sarcophyton Coral

Sarcophyton genus

Sarcophyton Coral

Sarcophyton genus

Other Common Names
Toadstool coral, Leather coral

Connected Coasts

Other Common Names

Toadstool coral, Leather coral

At the Aquarium

Connected Coasts

Appearance

Members of the sarcophyton genus resemble a baseball glove with a bare stalk that merges into a wider disk-like region that is concave in the center and has folds on the outer area. This wider disk-like region is covered in polyps which can retract, leaving the colony surface looking smooth and leathery.

Juveniles look more like mushrooms since they do not have folds.

Colony sizes range from small to over 1.5 m in diameter.

Stalks grow short and thick in wave-exposed environments and long and thin in deep mud and soft-bottom environments.

Members of this coral genus vary in color from brown, beige, yellow, green to cream. The polyps are usually the same color as the rest of the colony, but may be yellow or white in some brown colonies.

Habitat

Reef flats and lagoons at the intertidal zone to considerable depths

Diet

Zooxanthellae, algae that lives in the coral’s tissue, provides them with nutrients through a process called photosynthesis. Sarcophyton coral also eat small food particles drifting by in the water.

Life History

Sarcophyton coral reproduce by releasing sperm and eggs into the water. Larvae develop from the fertilized eggs and drift in ocean currents until they settle and establish a new colony.

Another way this type of coral reproduces is via fission, when a piece of the coral breaks off and the polyps bud, creating a new colony.

IUCN Status

Not Evaluated

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Like other soft coral, members of the sarcophyton genus act as shelter for juvenile fishes and food for some marine species.

Widespread, from eastern Africa and the Red Sea in the west to Polynesia in the east

This animal is not native to the Oregon Coast, however is found in the larger Pacific Ocean. It lives in the Aquarium as part of our Connected Coasts gallery.

Colonies of some species including Sarcophyton tortuosum are able to migrate over distances of about 0.5 m within a few months.

Sarcophyton is one of the most abundant genera of soft corals in the Indo-Pacific region, with about 50 species.

Citations & Other Resources

Fabricius, K., Australian Institute of Marine Science., and P. Alderslade. 2001. Soft corals and sea fans : a comprehensive guide to the tropical shallow water genera of the central-west Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Australian Institute of Marine Science.
Liu, Y., K. Palaniveloo, S.A. Alias, and J.S. Sathiya Seelan. 2021. Species Diversity and Secondary Metabolites of Sarcophyton -Associated Marine Fungi. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 26(11), 3227-. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26113227
The Dallas World Aquarium. N.d. Leather Coral. The Dallas World Aquarium. https://dwazoo.com/animal/leather-coral/

Sarcophyton Coral

Sarcophyton Coral

Other Common Names

At the Aquarium

Appearance

Habitat

Diet

Life History

IUCN Status

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Citations & Other Resources

Contact Us

Subscribe to E-Newsletter

About Oregon Coast Aquarium