''Leptogorgia'' is a genus of

soft coral Alcyonacea, or soft corals, are an order of corals. In addition to the fleshy soft corals, the order Alcyonacea now contains all species previously known as "gorgonian corals", that produce a more or less hard skeleton, though quite different f ...

in the family

Gorgoniidae Gorgoniidae is a family of soft corals, a member of the subclass Octocorallia in the phylum Cnidaria. Nearly all the genera and species are native to the east and west coasts of America. Characteristics Originally the members of the family G ...

. The genus has a widespread distribution with members being found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Western Europe to South Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic coasts of North and South America, the Antilles and the Pacific coast of America. Species are found in both shallow and deep waters. ''Leptogorgia'' is a slow growing sea whip and are easily damaged. They are easily damaged by storms and fishing agriculture. An as yet unnamed species of ''Leptogorgia'' was discovered off the coast of

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. It is to the n ...

in November 2014, near the

Gulf of the Farallones Gulf of the Farallones is a gulf of the Pacific Ocean off the northern California coast. It extends westward from the opening of the San Francisco Bay and Drakes Bay to the Farallon Islands. Most of the gulf lies in Gulf of the Farallones Natio ...

and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries.

Species

The

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ...

lists the following species:

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3319742 Gorgoniidae Cnidarian genera Taxa named by Henri Milne-Edwards