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Gorgonia mariae, commonly known as the wide-mesh sea fan, is a species of sea fan, a sessile colonial soft coral in the family Gorgoniidae. It occurs in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea at depths down to about 50 m (160 ft).
The coral is densely branched but usually grows in a single plane. The colour varies and is usually some shade of red, orange or deep yellow but purple specimens occasionally occur. The skeleton is not rigid so the whole fan-like structure can sway with the movement of the surrounding water.
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. [1] Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Coral belongs to the class Anthozoa in the animal phylum Cnidaria, which includes sea anemones and ...
Canton Island typifies the isolated coral atolls dotting the Pacific Ocean. The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, Being the first part of the geology of the voyage of the Beagle, under the command of Capt. Fitzroy, R.N. during the years 1832 to 1836, was published in 1842 as Charles Darwin's first monograph, and set out his theory of the formation of coral reefs and atolls.
The coral grows from a small base, forming several main branches with side branches and a network of small branchlets. The Venus sea fan is similar in appearance to Gorgonia ventalina , but has a slightly more untidy shape and short, stubby side growths coming out of the main plane. [ 3 ]
G. ventalina is a fan-shaped colonial coral with several main branches and a latticework of linking smaller branches. The skeleton is composed of calcite and gorgonin, a collagen-like compound. The calyces in which the polyps are embedded are in two rows along the branches.
Brain coral in the Great Blue Hole. The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs straddling the coast of Belize, roughly 300 metres (980 ft) offshore in the north and 40 kilometres (25 mi) in the south within the country limits.
Members of the family Melithaeidae are arborescent colonial corals forming fans, bushes or trees. The axis or main skeletal "trunk" is jointed, there being nodes, flexible horny joints, separated by internodes composed of hard, calcareous material.