CoralCommonVisible while snorkeling

Devil's hand coral

Lobophytum pauciflorum

Thick finger-like lobes reach upward from a leathery colony – as if a monster hand were emerging from the reef, though it is just a peaceful soft coral.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The devil's hand coral (Lobophytum pauciflorum) earned its name from its eerie shape: rows of thick, stubby fingers rise from a low leathery base plate, and the whole thing really does resemble a many-fingered hand reaching out of the reef. It is usually cream, yellowish or greyish brown. It belongs to the leather coral family: its flexible body is supported not by a limestone skeleton but by millions of tiny calcite needles.

By day its surface may be covered in fine polyp fuzz, but when disturbed – or before a clean-up – the whole colony closes into a smooth, firm leathery surface. Like other leather corals it periodically sheds a waxy film, ridding itself of the algae settled on top. Its chemical defence is serious too: it produces compounds that spoil the appetite of fish and slow the growth of neighbouring corals competing for space – a professional player in the quiet but ruthless real-estate war of the reef.

At Hurghada it inhabits the shallow, well-lit reef tops and plateaus: on El Fanadir and Abu Hashish and in the coral gardens of the Giftun Islands it often grows right in the surge zone at 1–10 metres, so it is easy to find while snorkeling. It is a hardy species that holds on where wave action washes away more delicate corals – but a footstep or a broken lobe still erases years of growth.

Did you know?

The devil's hand coral elbows its way around the reef with chemical weapons: it releases substances that slow the growth of neighbouring corals – securing itself a piece of sunlit real estate without a single blow.

Where can you meet it?

Common on the shallow plateaus of El Fanadir and Abu Hashish and in the coral gardens of the Giftun Islands – you often run into it at snorkel depth, just a few metres down.

Frequently asked questions

Only its shape is devilish: the thick finger-like lobes resemble a hand reaching out of the reef. In reality it is a completely harmless soft coral – it poses no danger to people at all; its "claws" are soft leathery fingers.

By the fingers: while the elephant ear coral (Sarcophyton) is a stalked mushroom with a wavy disc, the devil's hand is a low spreading plate with stubby upright fingers in rows. If you see a "hand", it is Lobophytum; if a "mushroom", Sarcophyton.

Yes, it is very much a shallow-water species: it grows on sunlit reef tops, often at 1–5 metres, handling the surge well. While snorkeling, just scan the plateaus – the fingered colonies are almost guaranteed to show up.