encrusting gorgonian

About this species

Erythropodium caribaeorum, commonly known as the encrusting gorgonian or encrusting polyps, is a species of soft coral in the monotypic family Erythropodiidae. It was formerly placed in subfamily Erythropodiinae of family Anthothelidae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Erythropodium caribaeorum”, 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: 112 records
February: 183 records
March: 141 records
April: 108 records
May: 313 records
June: 222 records
July: 303 records
August: 381 records
September: 288 records
October: 394 records
November: 254 records
December: 233 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 5–50 m · Deepest record: 1,828.2 m

0–10 m: 749 records
10–20 m: 952 records
20–30 m: 221 records
30–40 m: 281 records
40–50 m: 148 records
50–60 m: 145 records
60–70 m: 60 records
70–80 m: 29 records
80–90 m: 11 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 13 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 17–29 °C

16–18 °C: 2 records
18–20 °C: 3 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 1 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 452 records
28–30 °C: 423 records

Photos

(c) Jay Brasher, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Robert Webster, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Jay Brasher, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Matteo Bellucci, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Robin White, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Alex Doyle, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Robin White, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: encrusting gorgonian

Other scientific names: Erythropodium carybaeorum, Massarella vera, Sympodium verum, Xaenia caribaeorum, Xenia caribaeorum

Similar species

Erythropodium hicksoni

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).
2,648 open-data records from 1960 to 2022.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.