Whitleys Slender Basslet between Mushroom Leather Corals, Luzonichthys whitleyi, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Whitleys Slender Basslet between Mushroom Leather Corals, Luzonichthys whitleyi, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Species-rich Coral Reef, Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, Australia

Mushroom Soft Coral in Reef, Sarcophyton sp., Triton Bay, West Papua, Indonesia

Coral Reef of Leather Corals, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia

Coral Reef of Leather Corals, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia

Reef of Hard Corals and Leather Corals, Acropora, Tanimbar Islands, Moluccas, Indonesia

Coral Reef of Leather Corals, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia

Mushroom Soft Coral in Reef, Sarcophyton sp., Tanimbar Islands, Moluccas, Indonesia

Leather Coral on Reef Top, Sinularia sp., Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands

Leather Coral on Reef Top, Sinularia sp., Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands

Mushroom Soft Coral in Reef, Sarcophyton sp., Triton Bay, West Papua, Indonesia

Mushroom Soft Coral in Reef, Sarcophyton sp., Triton Bay, West Papua, Indonesia

Coral reef with Leather coral, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia

Soft leather corals grow in the shallow waters in the Solomon Islands, Melanesia. This region, in the eastern part of the Coral Triangle, harbors spectacular marine biodiversity and is known for its beautiful reefs.

The seafloor in a mangrove forest is covered by soft leather corals in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.

Leather coral (Sarcophytum sp.), polyp detail, Namu atoll, Marshall Islands, Pacific

Coral reef of soft leather corals (Sarcophyton sp.) and limestone islands. Misool, Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean. More info: This region has the highest marine biological diversity in the world.

Soft leather coral, Sarcophyton sp., bleaching. This soft coral has lost its symbiotic algae, zooxanthellae, and turned white due to high water temperatures. Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean.

Leather Bass, Artificial Reef & diver. Mabul Island, Malaysia

Leather Coral Polyps (Sarcophyton sp) each extending its 8 arms to try catching plankton in water. Coral Polyps are individual animals having a common base (in this case, the leathery base). Derawan, Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Leather coral (Sarcophyton sp.), Apo Island marine reserve, Philippines, Visayan sea, Southeast Asia, Asia

Anthias, Pseudanthias sp., swim over a hard coral garden with a variety of different hard corals including table, branching, cabbage or lettuce, staghorn, and leather varieties, Acropora sp., Porites sp., Echinopora sp., Sarcophyton sp., Spice Islands, Maluku Region, Halmahera, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean

Split shot or over under of a shallow reef with a variety of table, leather, and staghorn corals, Acropora sp., Porites sp., Litophyton sp., sarcophyton sp., and the island of Bunaken, Bunaken Marine Park, Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean

Soft coral, leather coral (Lobophytum) with semi-enclosed polyps, detail, Pacific, Great Barrier Reef, UNESCO World Heritage, Australia, Oceania

Diver looking at leather coral (Sarcophyton elegans), Pacific Ocean, Flores, Indonesia, Asia

Young leather coral (Sarcophyton) on sandy bottom, Red Sea, Aqaba, Jordan, Asia

Whitemouth Moray (Gymnothorax meleagris) looking out of hole in Leather coral (Lobophytum sp.), Gangga Island, Bangka Islands, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Molucca Sea, Pacific Ocean, Asia

Solomon Islands, serpent sea star on leather coral, close-up detail A90E

Finger Soft Coral between Encrusting Sponge, Alcyonium palmatum, Spirastrella cunctatrix, La Vaca, Medes Islands, Costa Brava, Mediterranean Sea, Spain

Shoal of Silversides over Coral Reef, Atherinidae, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia

Coral Reef, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia