- · 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 mollis silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0 (Dendronephthya)
- · Human silhouette: PhyloPic — NASA · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Dendronephthya mollis
Dendronephthya mollis (Dendronephthya mollis · Dendronephthya mollis)
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 8.8 cm is about 2/5 the short side of an A4 sheet of paper (21 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Rising water temperatures and marine pollution are cited as threats to this coral, linking it directly to news about ocean warming (National Institute of Ecology).
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 mollis is a soft coral forming colonies with other soft corals at depths of 5–30 m in Jeju waters, and is designated as Class II endangered wildlife (Korea).
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its colony is a stout, two-branched tree shape about 8.8 cm tall and 9.4 cm wide; the stalk is bright yellow, the branches are yellow, and the polyps are red.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It 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, where rising water temperatures, marine pollution, and careless underwater leisure activities are major threats.
📚 Sources & References
- • 멸종위기 야생생물 Ⅱ급 — 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000039713 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000039713
- • 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 120000039713 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000039713
- • wikidata.org — Q2392432
- • 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.