Cnidarian · octocoral

Bamboo coral

Keratoisis sp. (family Isididae, broadly defined)

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic Found in 2 oceans

Depth

Often around 1,000 to 1,500 m. One species, Keratoisis profunda, was found at 4,851 m

Size

Up to about 9 m tall, trunk 33 cm wide for the largest colonies

Diet

Plankton and particles captured by its polyps

Zone

The sea floor · 200 – 3,500 m

Key facts

• Its skeleton alternates white limestone segments and dark, flexible nodes, like a bamboo stem.
• It grows very slowly. A 1.2 m colony was about 70 years old, and the largest are thought to be about 500 years old.
• Its skeleton forms in layers, like the rings of a tree, which makes it possible to read its age.
• When touched, several bamboo corals light up blue. In Lepidisis, the light runs along the stem.

Verified sources

1. NOAA Ocean Explorer : Bamboo corals (Alaska 2004)
2. NOAA Ocean Explorer : Ageing bamboo coral at Davidson Seamount
3. Andrews et al. 2009, Marine Ecology Progress Series 397 : Growth and age of bamboo corals (210Pb)
4. MBARI : Glowing corals

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

Bubblegum coralParagorgia arborea Carnivorous umbrella spongeCladorhiza kensmithi Scarlet king crabLithodes couesi Atlantic batfishDibranchus atlanticus Bone-eating zombie wormOsedax rubiplumus Carcass bacterial matsBeggiatoa spp.