Whip Coral

Leptogorgia virgulata

Whip coral has slender, whip-like branches that vary in color from deep purple to yellowish-tan.

• Whip coral's long, tough branches are covered in coral polyps, which look like tiny white dots against the coral's skeleton.
• Whip coral can grow to about three feet tall.

Where does whip coral live?

Whip coral grows on rocks, reefs, pilings and other hard surfaces from the low-tide line to deep waters in the higher-salinity areas of the lower Bay.

What does whip coral eat?

Whip corals are suspension feeders. Each of the polyps covering the coral's skeleton has eight feathery, saw-toothed tentacles that periodically emerge to sweep plankton and tiny particles into the coral's body.

How does whip coral reproduce?

Unlike other similar species of coral, whip coral reproduces sexually by external fertilization.

• After hatching, planktonic whip coral larvae float for three to 20 days before they settle and search for a hard surface to attach themselves to.
• After attachment, the larvae morph into a form that more closely resembles an adult whip coral.

Other facts about whip coral:

• Whip coral is also known as the sea whip.
• Jean-Baptiste Lamarck first described whip coral in 1815 and gave the coral its scientific name.
• Whip coral is a relative of the ghost anemone.
• Whip coral provides important habitat to many fish species, such as black sea bass.