Red Coral

Cnidarian

Identification & Biology

• IdentificationA slow-growing, tree-like colonial coral with a hard, brilliant red skeleton made of calcium carbonate coloured by carotenoid pigments. Living colonies are covered in tiny white polyps, each with eight feathery tentacles.
• SizeColony height up to 50 cm, though most are much smaller. Growth rate is extremely slow, only a few millimetres per year.
• Social HabitColonial. Grows in dark caves, overhangs, and deep walls. Extremely slow-growing and very long-lived, with large colonies potentially centuries old.
• HabitatShaded rocky walls, cave ceilings, and deep overhangs. Requires low-light, hard substrate with good water flow.
• Depth10 to 300 m. In the Mediterranean, most accessible colonies are below 30 m due to historical harvesting of shallower ones.
• Feeds OnPlankton and suspended organic particles captured by the tiny polyps.
• DistributionMediterranean Sea and adjacent eastern Atlantic. Present in Maltese waters in deeper cave and wall environments.
• DescriptionCorallium rubrum has been harvested for jewellery and decorative arts since ancient times. The Romans, Greeks, and Phoenicians all prized it. Centuries of harvesting have removed most shallow-water colonies, and today it is mainly found in deeper water. The species is strictly protected and harvesting requires a specific licence. Its extremely slow growth rate means recovery from overexploitation takes decades to centuries.