How Is a Gorgonian Coral Made?

The answer is more surprising than it might seem. When I first became interested in gorgonians, what struck me was their unusual appearance: they look like delicate underwater trees or fans, yet they are actually colonies of tiny animals.

A gorgonian is therefore not one single animal. It is a living community made up of numerous tiny organisms called polyps, all connected within the same colony.

What is a gorgonian made of?

The basic structure of a gorgonian consists of a supporting internal axis surrounded by living tissue.

This is quite different from the hard skeleton produced by reef-building corals. Gorgonians belong to the soft corals, and their structure is flexible rather than rigid.

The individual polyps are the living part of the colony. Each tiny polyp has tentacles that allow it to capture food from the surrounding seawater.

So when I look at a large gorgonian, I’m not looking at one giant organism. I’m looking at thousands of tiny animals forming one remarkable colony.

Why do gorgonians have such unusual shapes?

The characteristic branches of a gorgonian serve an important purpose.

Their large surface area allows the polyps to interact with moving seawater. Currents carry plankton and other tiny food particles toward the colony, which the polyps can capture with their tentacles.

Depending on the species and its environment, a gorgonian can develop into a fan, a bush, or a complex network of branches.

This is particularly spectacular in the Mediterranean Sea, where some species can form impressive colonies on rocky underwater habitats.

Is a gorgonian a plant or an animal?

This is probably the easiest mistake to make when looking at one.

Despite its plant-like appearance, a gorgonian is an animal. More specifically, it is a colonial soft coral.

That distinction is what I find most fascinating. The graceful structure that looks like a tree or an underwater plant is actually the result of thousands of tiny polyps living together.

And once you know what is hidden behind that beautiful shape, a Mediterranean gorgonian coral becomes even more remarkable: it is not just part of the scenery, but a living colony and an important component of the marine ecosystem.