- · Grid units represent actual meters (m); human and animals are drawn to the exact same scale with original silhouette aspect ratios preserved.
- · When a size range is recorded (e.g. 1–1.6m), the lower bound is used for scale comparison.
- · Dendronephthya alba silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0 (Dendronephthya)
- · Human silhouette: PhyloPic — NASA · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Dendronephthya alba
Dendronephthya alba (Dendronephthya alba · Dendronephthya alba)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
🇰🇷 Class II endangered wildlife (Korea)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A colony height of about 3.8 cm is about 1.4 times the diameter of a Korean 500-won coin (26.5 mm) (Comparison).
- 💡 The National Institute of Ecology notes as a threat factor that careless underwater leisure activities in Seogwipo waters can damage small soft corals like this one.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
Dendronephthya alba is a cream-colored soft coral living alongside other soft corals at depths of 15–30 m off Seogwipo, Jeju Island, and is designated as Class II endangered wildlife (Korea).
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its colony has a flattened, two-branched tree shape about 3.8 cm tall and 4.8 cm wide, with a cream-colored body and clusters of 7–10 polyps at the tips of the fine branches.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It grows relatively slowly, captures small plankton using venomous nematocysts, and reproduces by budding or sexual reproduction depending on environmental conditions.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
Designated as Class II endangered wildlife (Korea), it is distributed in the waters off Jeju Island (Seogwipo), where rising water temperatures, marine pollution, and careless underwater leisure activities are major threats.
📚 Sources & References
- • 멸종위기 야생생물 Ⅱ급 — 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000039715 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000039715
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • Korean protection status: Class II endangered wildlife (Korea)
- • marinespecies.org — aphia.php
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000039715 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000039715
- • wikidata.org — Q2241535
- • nie.re.kr — view.do
- • nie.re.kr — list.do
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Dendronephthya)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.