#4902 · 🪼 jellyfish, starfish, worms & co
Dead Man's Fingers
🇳🇱 Dodemansduim ·Alcyonium digitatum
🪼 Jellyfish, starfish, worms & co 📍 in the Netherlands
📍 Väderöarna, Schweden
📍 2750 Cascais, Portugal
📍 IS
📍 2750 Cascais, Portugal
📍 Pen Cae, Moelfre, Wales, GB
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Biopix · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © Biopix · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 3. © Poul Erik Rasmussen · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 4. © Poul Erik Rasmussen · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. © Albertini maridom · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. Väderöarna, Schweden:© Rita Jansen · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 7. 2750 Cascais, Portugal:© Ana Santos · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. IS:© Maria Intxaustegi · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. 2750 Cascais, Portugal:© Ana Santos · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. Pen Cae, Moelfre, Wales, GB:© shetalkstoplants · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
Alcyonium digitatum or dead man's fingers is a species of soft coral in the Alcyoniidae family. It is found around the coasts of the northern Atlantic Ocean.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 16 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 998 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Dead Man's Fingers
- Nederlands
- Dodemansduim
- scientific name
- Alcyonium digitatum
- class
- Anthozoa
- order
- Malacalcyonacea
- family
- Alcyoniidae
- sightings in NL
- 16
- sightings in Europe
- 804
- sightings worldwide
- 998
- GBIF records in NL
- 830
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 363877, Wikidata Q593303, GBIF 5185175, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.