- · 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 suensoni silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0 (Dendronephthya)
- · Human silhouette: PhyloPic — NASA · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Dendronephthya suensoni
Dendronephthya suensoni (Dendronephthya suensoni · Dendronephthya suensoni)
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 10 cm is about half the short side of an A4 sheet of paper (21 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 The National Institute of Ecology describes its shape as broccoli-like, but because it is a protected marine species rather than a vegetable, divers must not touch it.
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 suensoni is a broccoli-shaped soft coral living in clear, fast-flowing waters along the South Sea coast and Jeju Island, and is designated as Class II endangered wildlife (Korea).
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its colony is about 10 cm tall with a two-branched broccoli shape; the branches and stalk are white, the fine branches are orangish-yellow, and the polyps are dark red.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It captures small plankton using venomous nematocysts, breeds in August, and forms colonies together with other soft corals.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
Designated as Class II endangered wildlife (Korea), it has a restricted distribution along the South Sea coast and Jeju Island waters, where rising water temperatures, marine pollution, and careless underwater leisure activities are major threats.
📚 Sources & References
- • 멸종위기 야생생물 Ⅱ급 — 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000039712 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000039712
- • 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 120000039712 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000039712
- • wikidata.org — Q1851965
- • 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.