red soft coral
Gersemia rubiformis (Ehrenberg, 1834)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gersemia rubiformis (Ehrenberg, 1834)
- Name authority
- (Ehrenberg, 1834)
- Common name
- red soft coral
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Cnidaria
- Class
- Octocorallia
- Order
- Malacalcyonacea
- Family
- Alcyoniidae
- Genus
- Gersemia
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumCnidaria
- classOctocorallia Haeckel, 1866
- orderMalacalcyonacea McFadden, van Ofwegen & Quattrini, 2022
- familyAlcyoniidae Lamouroux, 1812
- genusGersemia von Marenzeller, 1878
- speciesGersemia rubiformis (Ehrenberg, 1834)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gersemia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Gersemia crassa (Danielssen, 1887) | AlcyoniidaeCnidaria | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gersemia hicksoni (Gravier, 1913) | AlcyoniidaeCnidaria | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gersemia lambi Williams, 2013 | AlcyoniidaeCnidaria | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gersemia marenzelleri Kükenthal, 1906 | AlcyoniidaeCnidaria | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| passionate carnation coralGersemia mirabilis (Danielssen, 1887) | AlcyoniidaeCnidaria | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| bulbous carnation coralGersemia uvaeformis (May, 1900) | AlcyoniidaeCnidaria | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Capnella rubiformis (Ehrenberg, 1834) (Ehrenberg, 1834) | synonym |
| Eunephthya rubiformis (Ehrenberg, 1834) (Ehrenberg, 1834) | synonym |
| Lobularia rubiformis Ehrenberg, 1834 Ehrenberg, 1834 | synonym |
| Alcyonium carneum Verrill, 1864 Verrill, 1864 | synonym |
| Paraspongodes globosa May, 1900 May, 1900 | synonym |
| Alcyonium rubiforme (Ehrenberg, 1834) (Ehrenberg, 1834) | synonym |
| Gersemia carnea (Verrill, 1864) (Verrill, 1864) | synonym |
| Nannodendron elegans Danielssen, 1887 Danielssen, 1887 | synonym |
| Paraspongodes rubra May, 1898 May, 1898 | synonym |
| Lobularia carnea (Verrill, 1864) (Verrill, 1864) | synonym |
| Halcyonium carneum Agassiz, 1850 Agassiz, 1850 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/octocorallia/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=156103 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3FXFN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.