CreatureData

Soft coral

Alcyonium coralloides (Pallas, 1766)

Status not recordedjellyfish and corals

The soft coral (Alcyonium coralloides) is a species in the family Alcyoniidae, order Malacalcyonacea.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the soft coral

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the soft coral live?

Not recorded

Is the soft coral endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the soft coral classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumCnidaria
  3. classOctocorallia
  4. orderMalacalcyonacea
  5. familyAlcyoniidae
  6. genusAlcyonium
  7. SpeciesAlcyonium coralloides (Pallas, 1766)

Synonyms Anthozoanthus parasiticus, Gorgonia coralloides, Massarella coralloides, Parerythropodium coralloides, Sympodium coralloides

Other names and names in other languages (13)
  • Encrusting leather coralEnglish
  • False coralEnglish
  • False red coralEnglish
  • fals corallCatalan
  • laločnice korálováCzech
  • TrugkoralleGerman
  • falso coralSpanish
  • faux corailFrench
  • Alcionario parassitaItalian
  • Coral-falsoPortuguese
  • Falsche EdelkoralleGerman
  • Alcyon encroûtantFrench
  • falsa gorgonia rossaItalian

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the soft coral

Other species in the same genus Alcyonium.

Sea-fingers

Alcyonium digitatum

AlcyoniidaeNo free photo yet

Red fingers

Alcyonium glomeratum

AlcyoniidaeNo free photo yet

Sea finger

Alcyonium acaule

AlcyoniidaeNo free photo yet

CompareSoft coral vs Sea-fingersSoft coral vs Mediterranean sea-fingersSoft coral vs Red fingersSoft coral vs Sea finger

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

What kind of animal is the soft coral?

The soft coral (Alcyonium coralloides) belongs to the family Alcyoniidae in the order Malacalcyonacea.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Soft coral (Alcyonium coralloides). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/soft-coral

MLA

“Soft coral (Alcyonium coralloides).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/soft-coral.

BibTeX
@misc{soft_coral_2026,
  title = {Soft coral (Alcyonium coralloides)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/soft-coral},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}