Gorgonia ventalina

Super Group: 
Eukaryota
Phylum: 
Cnidaria
Class: 
Anthozoa
Order: 
Alcyonacea
Family: 
Gorgoniidae
Genus: 
Gorgonia
Species: 
ventalina
Authority: 
Linnaeus, 1758

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Diagnosis

Colony Form:Monoplanar fan to at least 1 m across.
Axis:Cylindrical or slightly compressed in plane of fan on small interconnected branchlets (pinnules).
Branches:Major ascending branches tapering toward tips; smaller interconnected branchlets (pinnules) cylindrical or slightly compressed in plane of fan. Meshes polygonal, squarish or irregular.
Apertures:Round or oval, chiefly on sides of small branchlets.
Mucus:None.
Color:Purple; occasionally yellow or brownish outside Florida.
Sclerites:Polyp armature: small rods 0.065-0.1 mm long. Body wall: acute spindles, and scaphoids (curved sclerites) with sculpture on convex side reduced to tiny thorns sometimes placed on low transverse ridges, to 0.14 mm long.

Ecology

Habitat:Crests and seaward slopes of shallow reefs exposed to surge, at depths chiefly from 2 to 10 m; rarely below 15 m.

Reference(s)

Observation site(s)

SYMBIONTS

Displaying 1 - 1 of 1
Association with... Region origin Name of site In reference...
Symbiodinium- clade B Quintana Roo Cancun
VAN OPPEN MJH, MIEOG JC, SANCHEZ CA, FABRICIUS KE (2005) Diversity of algal endosymbionts (zooxanthellae) in octocorals: the roles of geography and host relationships. Molecular Ecology 14:2403 - 2417. doi: 10.1111/mec.2005.14.issue-810.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02545.x