Arctic soft coral (Gersemia fruticosa)
Source-cited species reference: taxonomy from WoRMS, biology from SeaLifeBase, occurrence map from GBIF, description from Wikipedia.
Gersemia fruticosa is a species of soft coral in the family Nephtheidae. It is a deep sea species with a boreal distribution and is found in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, from off the coast of Delaware northward to Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait, and also in the northeast Atlantic Ocean in the Barents Sea.
- Scientific name
- Gersemia fruticosa
- Authority
- (Sars, 1860)
- Family
- Alcyoniidae
- Order
- Malacalcyonacea
- Depth range
- 25–2340 m
- Habitat zone
- sessile
- Gbif occurrence records
- 693
Classification (WoRMS)
Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Cnidaria · Class: Octocorallia · Order: Malacalcyonacea · Family: Alcyoniidae · Genus: Gersemia.
Accepted name: Gersemia fruticosa · Authority: (Sars, 1860) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 156101.
Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Alcyonium fruticosum Sars, 1860; Barathrobius digitatus Danielssen, 1887; Barathrobius palmatus Danielssen, 1887; Bellonella arctica (Danielssen, 1887); Eunephthya fructicosa (Sars, 1860); Eunephthya fruticosa (Sars, 1860); Fulla schiertzi Danielssen, 1887; Gersemia arctica (Danielssen, 1887); Gersemia longiflora Verrill, 1883; Krystallofanes polaris Danielssen, 1887; Nidalia arctica Danielssen, 1887; Organidus nordenskjoldi Danielssen, 1887; Paraspongodes abyssicola (Danielssen, 1887); Paraspongodes digitata (Danielssen, 1887); Paraspongodes fruticosa (Sars, 1860); Paraspongodes palmata (Danielssen, 1887); Paraspongodes polaris (Danielssen, 1887); Paraspongodes schierzi (Danielssen, 1887); Voeringia abyssicola Danielssen, 1887; Voeringia dryopsis Danielssen, 1887; Voeringia fruticosa (Sars, 1860); Voeringia jan-mayeni Danielssen, 1887; Voeringia polaris Danielssen, 1887; Voeringia pygmaea Danielssen, 1887.
Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=156101 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)
Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Gersemia fruticosa. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.
Depth range: 25–2340 m · Habitat zone: sessile.
SeaLifeBase notes: Host to the copepod Doridicola indistinctus (Ref. 119575).
Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 43252) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Gersemia-fruticosa.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)
693 georeferenced occurrence records for Gersemia fruticosa are published through GBIF from 9 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 198 distinct locations from a sample of 693 records, omitting 38 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.
Most records by country or area: Russian Federation (209); United States of America (184); Canada (151); Svalbard and Jan Mayen (69); Norway (54); Greenland (15); United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2); Faroe Islands (1); Saint Pierre and Miquelon (1).
Marine regions with a valid WoRMS distribution record: North West Atlantic; Gulf of Maine; United States Exclusive Economic Zone.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2263179) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2263179&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=156101 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Description and natural history (Wikipedia)
Little is known of the reproduction of deep sea corals, especially soft corals, because observation is so difficult at the depths at which they live. Gersemia fruticosa was brought to the surface and maintained in the laboratory under flow-through conditions. Planula larvae were released between April and June, at the time of year when the greatest quantity of phytoplankton was present in the water. The larvae were between 1.5 and 2.5 mm long and settled and underwent metamorphosis between 3 and 70 days after release. Three months later, the new primary polyps were up to 10 mm high with a stalk diameter of 1 mm. These juveniles were maintained for over a year but no budding took place, which suggests that this species grows very slowly.
Gersemia fruticosa has been used in the laboratory to study the synthesis of prostaglandins by corals. It has been possible to demonstrate the biosynthesis in vitro in this coral but not in other species studied, and a novel LO pathway or a new COX-isozyme may be involved.
Source: Wikipedia: Gersemia fruticosa — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gersemia_fruticosa (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
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