Plexaurella grisea
Diagnosis
Colony Form:Colonies tall, bushy, dichotomously branched, with long thin branches arising near the base and through half-way up colony height.
Branches:Branches thin, straight, firm and stiff; 5-12 mm in diameter.
Apertures:Oval and pore-like, conspicuously open; mostly smooth, or with aperture margins slightly elevated; long axes of apertures oriented along branch.
Mucus:None.
Color:Light brown, beige, or grey.
Sclerites:Polyp armature: small flat rods 0.06 mm long. Axial layer: 6-radiates ~0.15 mm across, and some flattened rods. Middle layer: stout 6-radiates, some with two longer rays; also short-rayed, stubby butterfly sclerites. Surface layer: small 6-radiates, most with two rays slightly longer.
Ecology
Common Habitat:Common on patch reefs and inshore, less common on deep reefs.on the outer reefs and patch reefs, and to a lesser extent inshore.
Reference(s)
Observation site(s)
SYMBIONTS
Association with... | Region origin | Name of site | In reference... |
---|---|---|---|
Symbiodinium- clade C | Quintana Roo | Cancun |
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 (2005) |