Plexaurella grisea

Super Group: 
Eukaryota
Phylum: 
Cnidaria
Class: 
Anthozoa
Order: 
Alcyonacea
Family: 
Plexauridae
Genus: 
Plexaurella
Species: 
grisea
Authority: 
Kunze, 1916

Suggest a modification

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

Displaying 1 - 1 of 1
Association with... Region origin Name of site In reference...
Symbiodinium- clade C 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