Organ Pipe Coral

Found in colonies composed of thin tubes, "organ pipes" 0.2 cm diameter, cemented together by horizontal plates, at intervals of several centimetres. In life, the corals have white polyps that may cover the corallum. The skeleton is deep red. Living over mid-shelf reefs and reef flats.

Most soft corals have no true skeleton and so their bodies are flexible.
Some soft corals have spikes very similar to rose thorns which may help to protect against predators.
Soft corals are food and shelter to many marine animals, some of which hide in the branches and take on the colouration of these corals.