Description: A small sea-fan which forms slender colonies with little branching, up to 200 mm tall but usually 70-100 mm. Colour white or greyish, sometimes with a pinkish tinge.

Habitat: Attached to bedrock and boulders in depths of 18-60 m.

Distribution: Recently re-discovered in several localities on the west coast of Scotland and in the Kenmare River, SW Ireland.

Similar Species: The only other sea-fan known from diving depths in Britain or Ireland is Eunicella verrucosa which is complexly branched, and usually salmon pink in colour. However white Eunicella do occur in most populations and in Galway Bay all individuals are rather sparsely branched and white in colour.

Key Identification Features:

• Sea fan with infrequent branching.
• White or pale cream coloration.

Distribution Map from NBN: Callistephanus pallida at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Callistephanus pallida at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Callistephanus pallida at World Register of Marine Species. Accepted name: Callistephanus pallida (Madsen, 1970). AphiaID: 1608729.

Classification: Biota; Animalia; Cnidaria; Anthozoa; Octocorallia; Malacalcyonacea; Gorgoniidae; Callistephanus