Primnoa

Primnoa
Temporal range:
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Subphylum: Anthozoa
Class: Octocorallia
Order: Alcyonacea
Family: Primnoidae
Genus: Primnoa
Lamouroux, 1812
Species

Primnoa (Lamororux, 1812) also known as red tree coral, is a genus of soft corals and the type genus of the family Primnoidae (Milne Edwards, 1857). They are sessile, benthic cnidarians that can be found in the North Pacific, North Atlantic, and Subantarctic South Pacific, and its members often play a vital ecological role as keystone species within their environment as a habitat and refuge for the megafauna that also inhabit those regions. This, in combination with their slow growth, makes the increasing disturbance to their habitats caused by fishing activities particularly impactful and difficult to recover from.