Ctenocella pectinata

About this species

Ctenocella pectinata, commonly known as the harp coral, is a species of coral that was first described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1766 at the depths of 20–30 m (66–98 ft). The species is an azooxanthellate.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Ctenocella pectinata”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 13 records
February: 6 records
March: 22 records
April: 14 records
May: 3 records
June: 8 records
July: 3 records
August: 3 records
September: 9 records
October: 6 records
November: 13 records
December: 12 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 18–1,218 m · Deepest record: 3,335 m

10–20 m: 6 records
20–30 m: 8 records
30–40 m: 6 records
40–50 m: 2 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110–120 m: 0 records
120+ m: 9 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 19–29 °C

18–20 °C: 1 records
20–22 °C: 21 records
22–24 °C: 17 records
24–26 °C: 26 records
26–28 °C: 43 records
28–30 °C: 12 records

Photos

(c) luluchouette, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) norcalmc, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Vsevolod Rudyi, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

Other scientific names: Ctenocella (Ctenocella) pectinata, Ellisella pectinata, Gorgonella pectinata, Gorgonia pectinata, Pterogorgia pectinata, Scirpearia pectinata

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
228 open-data records from 1898 to 2014.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.