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Consequently, the term "gorgonian coral" is commonly handed to multiple species in the order Alcyonacea that produce a mineralized skeletal axis (or axial-like layer) composed of calcite and the proteinaceous material gorgonin only and corresponds to only one of several families within the formally accepted taxon Gorgoniidae (Scleractinia).
It is also found near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge south of Iceland. [14] P. arborea often grows on reefs created by the stony coral Lophelia pertusa. Like other gorgonians, it prefers exposed locations with strong currents. [15] Thus, is most commonly found in marine canyons and on the continental slope, where the slope is steep. [6]
Eunicea is a genus of gorgonian-type octocorals in the family Plexauridae. These branched octocorals typically have knobby protuberances from which the polyps protrude. They are often stiffened by purple sclerites and some colonies, in brightly lit back-reef areas are purple, though most colonies are brown or grey. The polyps in some species ...
Eunicella verrucosa, the broad sea fan, pink sea fan or warty gorgonian, is a species of colonial Gorgonian "soft coral" in the family Gorgoniidae. It is native to the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and the western Mediterranean Sea.
Gorgonia flabellum, also known as the Venus fan, Venus sea fan, West Indian sea fan, purple gorgonian seafan, and common sea fan, is a species of sea fan, a sessile colonial soft coral. [ 2 ] Description
In 1995, a disease affected gorgonians in the Caribbean, with Gorgonia flabellum and Gorgonia ventalina being particularly affected. A terrestrial Aspergillus, a pathogenic fungus, was found to be responsible, and G. mariae was also susceptible. [6]
Leptogorgia virgulata is a colonial coral averaging about 20 cm (8 in) in height, usually between 15 and 60 cm as an adult, but sometimes reaching 1 metre (3.3 ft). It does not have the rigid calcium carbonate skeleton possessed by the true corals but its stalks have an internal, axial skeleton which is stiffened by sclerites and covered by an outer layer, the coenenchyme.
Research has shown that measurements of the gorgonin and calcite within species of gorgonian corals can be useful in paleoclimatology and paleoceanography.Studies of the growth, composition, and structure of the skeleton of certain species of gorgonians, (e.g., Primnoa resedaeformis, and Plexaurella dichotoma) can be highly correlated with seasonal and climatic variation.