Devonshire Cup Coral
Caryophyllia smithii
Sighting evidence at Gjógv Sea Cave, Faroe Islands
Devonshire cup corals stud every centimetre of the Gjógv cave walls below 5 metres, their solitary polyps translucent in torchlight with a pattern of concentric colours — cream, amber, and pale rose — radiating from the central disc. This cold-water coral does not contain zooxanthellae and thrives in the absence of sunlight, making the cave interior ideal habitat. Despite their modest size of just a few centimetres across, individual animals can live for several decades and play an important structural role as settlement substrate for other sessile invertebrates.
Evidence at this site
No confirmed records on file at this site
Devonshire Cup Coral is listed as a curated species here based on historical reports.