Dead Man’s Fingers (Soft Coral)
Alcyonium digitatum
This soft coral forms pale creamy-white or orange finger-like lumps, each a colony of tiny polyps that retract when disturbed. It usually grows in deeper water but can show up on vertical rock faces exposed only at the lowest tides. Around Lihou, explorers at a very low tide could spot these unusual coral-like protrusions clinging to shaded, submerged walls.
- Habitat: Lower intertidal to deeper subtidal; often found on shaded rock faces.
- When to See: Year-round
- Length: Each “finger” is a few centimetres thick and up to ~10 cm long; colonies can be larger