Bicolor Gorgonian

Melithaea bicolor

Corals and anemones
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth12–158 m
Water temperature20–29 °C
Best monthsFebruary, July, and September
How commonRare

All species

Photo credit: (c) desertnaturalist, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Melithaea bicolor, also called bicolor gorgonian, is a coral in the family Melithaeidae endemic to Hawai'i.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Melithaea bicolor”, 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: 2 records
February: 6 records
March: 2 records
April: 1 records
May: 2 records
June: 4 records
July: 6 records
August: 3 records
September: 9 records
October: 5 records
November: 4 records
December: 4 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 12–158 m · Deepest record: 249.5 m

10–20 m: 10 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 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: 2 records
110–120 m: 0 records
120+ m: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C

20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 5 records
24–26 °C: 8 records
26–28 °C: 0 records
28–30 °C: 6 records

Names and classification

English: Bicolor Gorgonian

Names in 1 more languages

Korean: 양색바늘산호

Other scientific names: Acabaria bicolor, Verrucella bicolor

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).
22 open-data records from 1902 to 2004.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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