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Sarcophyton

This species sheet describes a whole genus of soft corals, not a single species: WoRMS recognises 50 species in it. 1 Most have a mushroom-shaped colony, with a stalk without polyps and a disc that carries them. 2 It lives in the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to the western Pacific. 2 9

Sarcophytidae
Sarcophyton

At a glance

Data from the scientific sources listed at the bottom.

Depth in the wild

0–35 m

0 m10 m20 m30 m40 m50 m

Size

up to 100 cm

020406080100

disc diameter of S. glaucum, which can exceed 1 m; the figure does not apply to all species [2]

Conservation

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IUCN Red List: not evaluated. There is no assessment for the whole genus; SeaLifeBase gives S. glaucum as not evaluated. 12 In Species+ the name Sarcophyton with Appendix II belongs to a genus of orchids, not to this coral. 11

Where it lives

Red SeaWestern Indian OceanEastern Indian OceanCentral Indo-PacificWestern PacificCentral PacificEastern PacificWestern AtlanticEastern AtlanticMediterranean

The 1982 revision records species of the genus from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez, Madagascar, the Seychelles, Aldabra, the Maldives, Sumatra, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, the Great Barrier Reef, New Caledonia and Fiji. 2 It is also abundant on the reefs of KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa, 4 and there are records from the Andaman Islands. 10

The coral

Growth form: soft coral, usually mushroom-shaped: a stalk without polyps and a flat or cup-shaped disc, with a more or less pleated margin 2

Zooxanthellae: yes

Growth: On the Great Barrier Reef average growth is about 0.5 cm a year in radius, measured on colonies tagged for three and a half years. 6

How to recognise it

Tap a number on the photo: the key explains what to look for.

123
  1. 1Disc the part of the colony that carries the polyps 2
  2. 2Pleated margin more or less wavy depending on species and age 2
  3. 3Extended polyps they can retract into the disc 2

Life in the wild

Where it is found

It lives on coral reefs. 3 6 The depth range comes from S. glaucum in the northern Red Sea, where below 18 m populations are sparse, and does not apply to all species. 3 On the Great Barrier Reef, at Davies Reef, the genus was often found below 30 m too. 7

What it eats

The genus hosts symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae). 7 9 A study of 10 genera of soft corals, including this one, concluded that photosynthesis alone does not cover the carbon needs of most of them, which must also obtain other food. 7

Behaviour

Colonies alternate between different phases: polyps extended and disc open, polyps retracted and disc more hollowed, then full contraction. 2 The rhythm and causes of this alternation are not yet clear. 2 In soft corals, contraction reduces photosynthesis in groups with large polyps. 7

Reproduction

Separate sexes, with a yearly, synchronised release of eggs and sperm. 3 4 5 In the northern Red Sea S. glaucum spawns largely in a single July night; males mature at 6-7 years, females after 10, and the larvae swim for 14 days. 3 In KwaZulu-Natal the same species releases its gametes in March, and 9% of colonies are hermaphrodite. 4 Reproductive traits turn out to be similar throughout the genus. 5

In the aquarium

From the experience of the BallingMania community.

Community rating
Position in the tank
lowmediumhigh
Water flow
lowmediumhigh
Light intensity
lowmediumhigh
Aggression
lowmediumhigh
Care difficulty
lowmediumhigh
Original sheet

It belongs to the family Alcyoniidae. Species: Sarcophyton ehrenbergi, elegans, glaucum, tenuispiculatum, trocheliophorum, latum. Colours: cream, pink, yellow; usually the polyps of this animal, when in excellent condition and exposed to good lighting, take on colours tending to yellow, white or pink. Place of origin: they are found in all tropical seas, especially the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Indo-Pacific and the Great Barrier Reef. The genus Sarcophyton has a broad base column with a widened top, a typical shape that recalls a mushroom or an umbrella; it belongs to the order Alcyonacea, the vast category to which most soft corals belong. Extremely hardy compared with their SPS and LPS relatives, which are much more delicate and demanding. In the wild they can be found in the shallow lagoon waters of reefs, anchored to rocky substrates, where at low tide temperatures can even exceed 35 degrees, or in deeper areas of the reef slopes, where, washed by the waves, they show their magnificence, reaching the considerable size of around a metre in diameter in some species. In our aquariums Sarcophyton has no special requirements. It grows well under both moderate and intense light and feeds mainly through its zooxanthellae algae to obtain the nutrients it needs and expel harmful substances. It wants gentle, moderate water movement, trying to recreate an alternating wave motion. It needs good water quality but tolerates higher nutrient values than hard corals; it also tolerates swings in salinity and temperature, but they are sensitive to contact with stinging corals. Sarcophyton is subject to "moulting", a period of four or five days during which, to clean itself of sediment, it releases its surface layer of tissue into the water. It is vulnerable

Species sheet by Massimo Ramognino and photo by Aniello Pepe

What studies say about keeping it

In a study on rearing in a closed system, cuttings of S. glaucum took on the shape of small mushroom colonies over 60 days. 8 Between 20 and 29 °C the highest dry weight was at 26 °C; salinities between 30 and 40 ppt did not change the results. 8 Survival was high in intermediate light (35-130 µE m-2 s-1) and lower in the lowest and highest light tested (20 and 250 µE m-2 s-1). 8 Giving Artemia nauplii every 7 or 30 days worked better than every 2 days. 8 These are results from an experiment on cuttings of a single species, not guidance valid for every aquarium.

Did you know?

Besides the visible polyps, the genus has tiny polyps (siphonozooids) that are always retracted, sometimes visible only by cutting the surface of the disc. 2
On the Great Barrier Reef mortality is low in colonies with a disc over 5 cm and much higher in newly settled ones. 6
A flat disc can quickly become cup- or funnel-shaped: this is why colony shape alone is of little help in telling the species apart. 2

Sources

  1. McFadden C.S., Cordeiro R., Samimi-Namin K., Hoeksema B.W., Williams G., van Ofwegen L.P. (2026). Sarcophyton Lesson, 1834. World List of Octocorallia, via WoRMS.
  2. Verseveldt J. (1982). A revision of the genus Sarcophyton Lesson (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea). Zoologische Verhandelingen.
  3. Benayahu Y., Loya Y. (1986). Sexual reproduction of a soft coral: synchronous and brief annual spawning of Sarcophyton glaucum (Quoy & Gaimard, 1833). Biological Bulletin.
  4. Schleyer M.H., Kruger A., Benayahu Y. (2004). Reproduction and the unusual condition of hermaphroditism in Sarcophyton glaucum (Octocorallia, Alcyoniidae) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Hydrobiologia.
  5. Mandelberg-Aharon Y., Benayahu Y. (2015). Reproductive features of the Red Sea octocoral Sarcophyton auritum Verseveldt & Benayahu, 1978 are uniform within generic boundaries across wide biogeographical regions. Hydrobiologia.
  6. Fabricius K.E. (1995). Slow population turnover in the soft coral genera Sinularia and Sarcophyton on mid- and outer-shelf reefs of the Great Barrier Reef. Marine Ecology Progress Series.
  7. Fabricius K.E., Klumpp D.W. (1995). Widespread mixotrophy in reef-inhabiting soft corals: the influence of depth, and colony expansion and contraction on photosynthesis. Marine Ecology Progress Series.
  8. Sella I., Benayahu Y. (2010). Rearing cuttings of the soft coral Sarcophyton glaucum (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea): towards mass production in a closed seawater system. Aquaculture Research.
  9. McFadden C.S., Erickson K.L., Lane A. et al. (2025). Biodiversity and biogeography of zooxanthellate soft corals across the Indo-Pacific. Scientific Reports.
  10. Rajendra S., Raghunathan C., Mondal T. (2017). New distribution records of three Sarcophyton species (Alcyonacea: Alcyoniidae) in Indian waters from Andaman Islands. Journal of Threatened Taxa.
  11. UNEP-WCMC (2026). Sarcophyton Garay, 1972 (orchid), CITES listings. Species+.
  12. Palomares M.L.D., Pauly D. (eds.) (2026). Sarcophyton glaucum. SeaLifeBase.

Sources checked on 5 November 2026. Community texts and ratings are kept separate from the scientific data.

View the original sheet (Italian)All species