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Red sea fingers is similar in shape to Alcyonium digitatum but is usually blood red or rust coloured. The finger-shaped lobes are slender and can be up to thirty centimetres long. The polyps are white and each one has eight pinnate tentacles which give the colony a feathery appearance when they are extended. [2]
Gorgonians possessing zooxanthellae are usually characterized by brownish polyps. Gorgonians are found primarily in shallow waters, though some have been found at depths of several thousand feet. [4] [6] The size, shape, and appearance of gorgonians can be correlated with their location. The more fan-shaped and flexible gorgonians tend to ...
Briareum asbestinum, commonly known as the corky sea finger, is a species of a soft coral in the family Briareidae. [1] It inhabits coral reefs and rocky bottoms in the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Florida, often growing to 30 cm at depths of one to 40 metres.
Octocorallia (also known as Alcyonaria) is a class of Anthozoa comprising over 3,000 species [1] of marine organisms formed of colonial polyps with 8-fold symmetry. It includes the blue coral, soft corals, sea pens, and gorgonians (sea fans and sea whips) within three orders: Alcyonacea, Helioporacea, and Pennatulacea. [2]
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.
The two main subclasses of Anthozoa are the Hexacorallia, members of which have six-fold symmetry and includes the stony corals, sea anemones, tube anemones and zoanthids; and the Octocorallia, which have eight-fold symmetry and includes the soft corals and gorgonians (sea pens, sea fans and sea whips), and sea pansies.
Many of the smaller branches are compressed in the plane of the fan, which distinguishes this species from the Venus sea fan (Gorgonia flabellum). It often has small accessory fans growing out sideways from the main fan. It grows to 1.5 m (5 ft) tall and is variable in colour, being whitish, yellow, or pale purple.
This coral grows as finger-like branches which may be single or relatively unbranched. The polyps are numerous and cover the entire colony except for the basal region. It is variably coloured in red, yellow or orange. [2] [3]