Cnidarian · soft coral

Sea strawberry

Gersemia rubiformis

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic Found in 3 oceans

Depth

From the shore down to about 1,250 m

Size

Colony 15 cm, up to 30 cm

Diet

Plankton filtered from the water

Zone

The sea floor · 200 – 3,500 m

Key facts

• Its pink or red colonies look like bunches of strawberries.
• Each polyp bears 8 feather-shaped tentacles.
• It has no hard skeleton. Tiny spines, the sclerites, support its body.
• Its “strawberry fields” serve as nurseries for lobsters and basket stars.

Verified sources

1. SeaLifeBase : Gersemia rubiformis
2. Oceana Canada : Sea strawberry
3. MarLIN : Gersemia sur roche bathyale arctique

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

Spoonarm octopusBathypolypus arcticus Warty bobtail squidRossia palpebrosa Arctic skateAmblyraja hyperborea Arctic seep threadwormSclerolinum contortum Ten-legged sea spiderDecolopoda australis Antarctic sea starOdontaster validus