About Leptogorgia palma (Pallas, 1766)
Leptogorgia palma is a bright red sea fan that can reach a total height of up to 2 meters. It has small white polyps that retract into slits in the colony when they are not feeding. Its branches fork from a central flattened trunk. This sea fan is only found along the South African coast, ranging from the Cape Peninsula to Sodwana, at depths between 10 and 100 meters, and it is endemic to this region. This species grows very slowly, at a rate of only 15 millimeters per year, meaning large colonies may be over 100 years old. It is preyed on by the sponge crab Pseudodromia latens and the topshell snail Calliostoma ornatum.
