Soft Coral

Photo: Harry Rosenthal · CC BY-NC

The Dendronephthya soft corals encrusting Batu Bolong are among the most photographed in the world, their translucent pink, orange, yellow, and white branches fully extended during current and contracting to small lumps at slack water. These filter feeders have completely colonized every horizontal and vertical surface of the pinnacle below 5 meters, creating a living texture that transforms the rock into something resembling an abstract sculpture. The diversity of soft coral genera present — including Scleronephthya, Chironephthya, and Stereonephthya alongside Dendronephthya — reflects the extraordinary productivity of the current-swept environment.