- · 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.
- · Myriopathes japonica: Drawn using our own body-shape diagram where an open-licensed silhouette was unavailable.
- · Human silhouette: PhyloPic — NASA · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Myriopathes japonica
Myriopathes japonica (Myriopathes japonica · Myriopathes japonica)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
🇰🇷 Class II endangered wildlife (Korea) · Natural Monument (Korea) «Myriopathes japonica»
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A colony height growing up to 2–3 m is equal to or about 1.5 times the height of a room door (about 2 m) (Comparison).
- 💡 Also called Munang (Korean name), it was once overharvested to be made into walking sticks or jewelry and is now protected as a Natural Monument (Korea) (Korea Heritage Service).
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
Myriopathes japonica is a large black coral in the order Antipatharia living in the waters of Jeju Island and the South Sea of Korea. Shaped like pine branches, it is both a Natural Monument (Korea) and a Class II endangered wildlife (Korea) species.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
The largest colonies are about 125 cm high and about 100 cm wide, shaped like a pine tree, with a dark brown skeletal axis and white polyps and coenenchyme.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It catches small plankton using venomous nematocysts, hosts many organisms living inside and around its colony, and has tended to be overharvested for processing into walking sticks or jewelry.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It was designated as a Natural Monument (Korea) on March 17, 2005, and is a Class II endangered wildlife (Korea) species. In Korea, it is distributed in the waters around Jeju Island and neighboring waters of Gyeongsangnam-do.
📚 Sources & References
- • 멸종위기 야생생물 Ⅱ급 · 천연기념물 «해송» — 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000212210 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000212210
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • Korean protection status: Class II endangered wildlife (Korea) · Natural Monument (Korea) «Myriopathes japonica»
- • marinespecies.org — aphia.php
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000212210 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000212210
- • heritage.go.kr — culSelectDetail.do
- • wikidata.org — Q4009019
- • nie.re.kr — view.do
- • nie.re.kr — list.do
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.