Dead Mans Fingers

Alcyonium digitatum
Dead Mans Fingers

Habitat: Very low shore, rocky reefs, wrecks
Depth: 5-100m
Food: Plankton and detritus
Size: Up to 20cm across
Lifespan: Unknown
Conservation Status: Not Evaluated (NE)

Dead mans fingers are so-called since they resemble pale, swollen fingers. They are actually soft corals, living as a colony. The main body is tough and flexible and each animal is called a polyp and looks like a tiny white anemone. Dead mans fingers live in fast moving water, trapping passing plankton. They can withstand currents of up to 1m per second!

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