Higher Classification: > Kingdom Animalia > Subkingdom Eumetazoa > Phylum Cnidaria > Subphylum Anthozoa > Class Octocorallia > Order Malacalcyonacea > Family Alcyoniidae > Genus Alcyonium

Alcyonium digitatum Linnaeus, 1758

Rank: Species
Taxon Status: accepted

Relationships towards this taxon

Genus group names

*Alcyonium*	Linnaeus, 1758	accepted genus name
*Alcyonidium*	auct.	synonym
*Parerythropodium*	Kükenthal, 1916	synonym
*Rhodophyton*	Gray, 1865	synonym

Vernaculars (+) (-)

Dutch: dodemansduim; doomansduim sources: Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp.;PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

English: dead man's fingers; dead man's fingers soft coral; dead-man's fingers; sea-fingers sources: van der Land, J. (ed). (2008). UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms (URMO).;National General Status Working Group [Groupe de travail national sur la situation générale]. (2017). Standardized Common Names for Wild Species in Canada [Noms communs normalisés pour les espèces sauvages au Canada].;Cole, T. C. H. (2017). Wörterbuch der Wirbellosen / Dictionary of Invertebrates. Latein-Deutsch-English. 2017. Springer Spektrum: Berlin. ISBN 978-3-662-52869-3. XII, 574 pp.

French: alcyon commum; alcyon jaune; corail digité sources: Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp.;National General Status Working Group [Groupe de travail national sur la situation générale]. (2017). Standardized Common Names for Wild Species in Canada [Noms communs normalisés pour les espèces sauvages au Canada].

German: Meerhand; Nordische Korkkoralle; tote Manneshand

Literature

original description	Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. [The system of nature through the three kingdoms of nature, according to classes, orders, genera, species, with characters, differences, synonyms, places.]. Impensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii. Holmiae [Stockholm]. 1(10) [iii], 824 p.
basis of record	van Ofwegen, L.; Grasshoff, M.; van der Land, J. (2001). Octocorallia (excl. Pennatulacea), in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 104-105
additional source	Kükenthal, W. (1906). Alcyonacea. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Deutschen Tiefsee-Expedition auf dem Dampfer “Valdivia”, 1898–1899. 13: 1-111, plates 1-12.
additional source	Linkletter, L. E. (1977). A checklist of marine fauna and flora of the Bay of Fundy. Huntsman Marine Laboratory, St. Andrews, N.B. 68: p.
additional source	Gosse, P.H., 1860. Actinologia Britannica. A history of the British sea-anemones and corals. London: Van Voorst : pp. i-xl, 1-362.
additional source	Hickson, S. J. (1907). The Alcyonaria, Antipatharia, and Madreporaria collected by the "Huxley" from the north side of the Bay of Biscay in August, 1906. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 8, 6-14
additional source	Williams, G.C. (2000). Two new genera of soft corals (Anthozoa: Alcyoniidae) from South Africa, with a discussion of diversity and endemism in the Southern African octocorallian fauna. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 52(6): 65-75.
additional source	Thorpe, L. (1928). Alcyonaria of the Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology. 36(247): 479-531.
additional source	Gohar, H.A.F. (1940). Studies on the Xeniidae of the Red Sea: their ecology, physiology, taxonomy and phylogeny. Publications of the Marine Biological Station, Ghardaqa (Red Sea). 2: 25-118, plates 1-7.
additional source	Williams, G. C. (1993). Coral Reef Octocorals: An Illustrated Guide to the Soft Corals, Sea Fans and Sea Pens Inhabiting the Coral Reefs of Northern Natal. Durban Natural Science Museum. Durban., pp. 63.
additional source	McFadden, C. S.; Donahue, R.; Hadland, B. K.; Weston, R. (2001). A molecular phylogenetic analysis of reproductive trait evolution in the soft coral genus Alcyonium. Evolution, 55(1): 54-67
additional source	Hayward, P.J. & J.S. Ryland (Eds.). (1990). The marine fauna of the British Isles and North-West Europe: 1. Introduction and protozoans to arthropods. Clarendon Press: Oxford, UK. 627 pp.
additional source	Ben-David-Zaslow, R.; Henning, G.; Hofmann, D. K.; Benayahu, Y. (1999). Reproduction in the Red Sea soft coral Heteroxenia fuscescens: seasonality and long-term record (1991 to 1997). Marine Biology, 133, 553-559
additional source	Watling, L.; Auster, P. (2005). Distribution of deep-water Alcyonacea off the Northeast Coast of the United States. In: Freiwald, A., R.J. Murray, editors. Cold-Water Corals and Ecosystems. Proceedings of the Second Deep-Sea Coral Symposium. 279-296.
additional source	Dahan, M.; Benayahu, Y. (1997). Reproduction of Dendronephthya hemprichi (Cnidaria: Octocorallia): year-round spawning in an azooxanthellate soft coral. Marine Biology, 129, 573-579
additional source	Williams, G.C. (1992). The Alcyonacea of southern Africa. Stoloniferous octocorals and soft corals (Coelenterata, Anthozoa). Annals of the South African Museum. 100: 249-358.
additional source	McFadden, C.S. (1999). Genetic and taxonomic relationships among northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean populations of the soft coral Alcyonium corallioides. Marine Biology. 133: 171-184.
additional source	Gohar, H. A. F. (1940). The development of some Xeniidae (Alcyonaria) (with some ecological aspects). Publications of the Marine Biological Station Al Ghardaqa (Red Sea), 3, 27-78, plates I-V
additional source	Hickson, S. J. (1930). On the classification of the Alcyonaria. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, XIV, 229-252
additional source	Ates, R. M. L. (1997). Bloemdieren: De Zeeanemonen En Hun Verwanten Van De Nederlandse Kust. C. Moerman. Zeeanjer., pp. 31.
additional source	Thomson, J.S. (1910). The Alcyonaria of the Cape of Good Hope and Natal. Alcyonacea. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 47(3): 549-589, plates 1-4.
additional source	Gosner, K. L. (1971). Guide to identification of marine and estuarine invertebrates: Cape Hatteras to the Bay of Fundy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., London. 693 pp. [pdf copepod and branchiuran :445-455].
additional source	Opresko, D.M. & F.M. Bayer. (1991). Rediscovery of the enigmatic coelenterate Dendrobrachia (Octocorallia: Gorgonacea) with descriptions of two new species. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 115(1): 1-19.
additional source	Alderslade, P. (2000). Four new genera of soft corals (Coelenterata: Octocorallia), with notes on the classification of some established taxa. Zoologische Mededelingen Leiden. 74: 237-249.
additional source	Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp.
additional source	Benayahu, Y.; Loya, Y. (1986). Sexual reproduction of a soft coral: synchronous and brief annual spawning of Sarcophyton glaucum (Quoy & Gaimard, 1833). Biological Bulletin, 170, 32-42
additional source	Tixier-Durivault, A. (1940). Contribution a l'étude du métabolisme du calcium et du fer chez l'Alcyonium palmatum Pallas. Annales de l'Institute Oceanographique, 20(1): 311-379, plate 1
additional source	Madsen, F. J. (1944). Octocorallia (Stolonifera - Telestacea - Xeniidae - Alcyonacea - Gorgonacea). The Danish Ingolf-Expedition, Vol. V. Bianco Luno A/S. 5(13): 1-65.
additional source	Grajales V.A., Aguilar C., Sánchez J. (2007). Phylogenetic reconstruction using secondary structures of Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2, rDNA): finding the molecular and morphological gap in Caribbean gorgonian corals. BMC Evolutionary Biology 7: 90.
additional source	Verseveldt, J. (1973). On the validity of Alcyonium siderium Verrill (Coelenterata: Octocorallia). Zoologische Mededelingen Leiden. 46(16): 209-216, plates 1-2.
additional source	Moore, H. B. (1937). Marine fauna of the Isle of Man. Proceedings and Transactions of the Liverpool Biological Society. 50: 1-293, maps 1-3. (Crustacea: 87-142).
additional source	Benayahu, Y.; Loya, Y. (1983). Surface brooding in the Red Sea soft coral Parerythropodium fulvum fulvum (Forskål, 1775). Biological Bulletin, 165, 353-369
additional source	Uchida, T. (1969). On a northern alcyonarian, Alcyonium pacificum Yamada. Journal of the Faculty of Science, Hokkaido Imperial University, 17, 6, 397-399
additional source	Williams, G.C. (1986). A new species of the octocorallian genus Alcyonium (Anthozoa: Alcyonacea) from southern Africa, with a revised diagnosis of the genus. Journal of Natural History. 20: 53-63.
additional source	McFadden, C. S.; Hochberg, F. (2003). Biology and taxonomy of encrusting alcyoniid soft corals in the northeastern Pacific Ocean with descriptions of two new genera (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Octocorallia). Invertebrate Biology. 122(2): 93-113.
additional source	Broch, H. (1912). Die Alcyonarien des Trondhjemsfjordes. I. Alcyonacea. Det Kongelige Norske videnskabers selskabs skrifter. 1911 (7): 1-48.
additional source	Wirshing, H. H.; Messing, C. G.; Douady, C. J.; Reed, J. K.; Stanhope, M. J. (2005). Molecular evidence for multiple lineages in the gorgonian family Plexauridae (Anthozoa: Octocorallia). Marine Biology, 147, 497-508
additional source	Benayahu, Y.; Achituv, Y.; Berner, T. (1988). Embryogenesis and acquisition of algal symbionts by planulae of Xenia umbellata (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea). Marine Biology, 100, 93-101
additional source	Füller, H. (1957). Exkursionsfauna von Deutschland. Wirbellose I. Volk und Wissen Volkseigener. Berlin., pp. 30-34 (485 total pages in volume).
additional source	Hartlaub C. (1894). Die Coelenteraten Helgolands. Vorläufiger Bericht. Wissenschaftliche Meeresuntersuchungen n. ser. 1(1): 161-206.
additional source	Tixier-Durivault, A.; Lafargue, F. (1966). Quelques Alcyonaires des Iles de Glenan. Bulletin de la Museum Nationale d'Histoire naturelle Paris, Ser. 2. 38(4): 456-460.
additional source	Gosse, P.H. (1853). A naturalist's rambles on the Devonshire coast. John van Voorst, London. pp. i-xvi, 1-451, pls 1-28.
additional source	Utinomi, H. (1976). A review of the Japanese species of Alcyonium, with descriptions of two new species and an almost forgotten rare species (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea). Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory. 23(3/5): 191-204.
additional source	Jaworski, E. (1938). Untersuchungen über Rassenbildung bei Anthozoen. Schlesischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitdt zu Breslau. Breslau., pp. 57.
additional source	Van Soest, R.W.M.; Weinberg, S. (1980). A note on the sponges and octocorals from Sherkin Island and Lough Ine, Co Cork. The Irish Naturalist's Journal. 20 (1): 1-15.
additional source	Deichmann, E. (1936). The Alcyonaria of the western part of the Atlantic Ocean. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard College. 53: 1-317, plates 1-37.
additional source	Mortensen, P. B.; Buhl-Mortensen, L. (2005). Deep-water corals and their habitats in The Gully, a submarine canyon off Atlantic Canada. André Freiwald and J. Murray Roberts (eds.). Springer. Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 247-277
additional source	Ben-David-Zaslow, R.; Benayahu, Y. (1996). Longevity, competence and energetic content in planulae of the soft coral Heteroxenia fuscescens. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 206, 55-68
additional source	Jaworski, E. (1938). Untersuchungen über Rassenbildung bei Anthozoen. Thalassia, 3(1): 3-57
additional source	Levinsen, G.M.R. (1893). Annulata, Hydroidae, Anthozoa, Porifera. Videnskabelige Udbytte ad Kanonbaaden Hauchs, Togter. 321-464.
source of synonymy	Deichmann, E (1936). The Alcyonaria of the western part of the Atlantic ocean. Illustrated catalogue of the Museum of Comparative Zoӧlogy
subsequent type designation	Mantell, G. (1822). The Fossils of the South Downs; or Illustrations of the Geology of Sussex. Lupton Relfe: London. 1-328, pls. I-XLII.

Genbank

External Links

Marine Life Information Network - UK

Citation

McFadden, C.S.; Cordeiro, R.; Samimi-Namin, K.; Williams, G.; van Ofwegen, L. (2025). World List of Octocorallia. Alcyonium digitatum Linnaeus, 1758. Via: Costello, M.J.; Bouchet, P.; Boxshall, G.; Arvantidis, C.; Appeltans, W. (2011) European Register of Marine Species, Accessed through PESI at http://www.eu-nomen.eu/portal/taxon.php?GUID=urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:125333