scubaseason

Dead Man's Fingers

Alcyonium digitatum

Sighting evidence at Enniberg Wall, Faroe Islands

Dead man's fingers soft coral dominates the Enniberg Wall below 10 metres, forming dense colonies of cream, orange, and pale yellow lobes that sway rhythmically in the tidal current and give the wall the appearance of a living, breathing organism. Each colony is a superorganism of hundreds of individual polyps that extend their eight-tentacled feeding apparatus into current-rich water to capture zooplankton. The colonies grow slowly and can live for decades, meaning the largest specimens on Enniberg Wall may have established during World War II.

Evidence at this site

No confirmed records on file at this site

Dead Man's Fingers is listed as a curated species here based on historical reports.

How is this calculated?

Sighting evidence is compiled from iNaturalist observation records within a set proximity radius, filtered for quality-grade observations. “Last confirmed” is the date of the most recent research-grade record. Record count covers a rolling 24-month window. Confidence reflects record count, recency, and consistency of seasonal signal.

Also seen at other sites