Antipatharians, also known as black corals or thorn corals, are an order of soft deep-water corals. These corals can be recognized by their jet-black or dark brown chitin skeletons, surrounded by the polyps. Antipatharians are a cosmopolitan order, existing at nearly every location and depth, with the sole exception of brackish waters. However, they are most frequently found on continental slopes under 50 m (164 ft) deep. A black coral reproduces both sexually and asexually throughout its lifetime. Many black corals provide housing, shelter, food, and protection for other animals.
Alcyonacea, or soft corals, are an order of corals. In addition to the fleshy soft corals, the order Alcyonacea now contains all species previously known as "gorgonian corals", that produce a more or less hard skeleton, though quite different from "true" corals (Scleractinia). These can be found in suborders Holaxonia, Scleraxonia, and Stolonifera. They are sessile colonial cnidarians that are found throughout the oceans of the world, especially in the deep sea, polar waters, tropics and subtropics. Common names for subsets of this order are sea fans and sea whips; others are similar to the sea pens of related order Pennatulacea. Individual tiny polyps form colonies that are normally erect, flattened, branching, and reminiscent of a fan. Others may be whiplike, bushy, or even encrusting. A colony can be several feet high and across, but only a few inches thick. They may be brightly coloured, often purple, red, or yellow. Photosynthetic gorgonians can be successfully kept in captive aquaria.
Aiptasia is a genus of a symbiotic cnidarian belonging to the class Anthozoa. Aiptasia is a widely distributed genus of temperate and tropical sea anemones of benthic lifestyle typically found living on mangrove roots and hard substrates. These anemones, as well as many other cnidarian species, often contain symbiotic dinoflagellate unicellular algae of the genus Symbiodinium living inside nutritive cells. The symbionts provide food mainly in the form of lipids and sugars produced from photosynthesis to the host while the hosts provides inorganic nutrients and a constant and protective environment to the algae. Species of Aiptasia are relatively weedy anemones able to withstand a relatively wide range of salinities and other water quality conditions. In the case of A. pallida and A. pulchella, their hardiness coupled with their ability to reproduce very quickly and out-compete other species in culture gives these anemones the status of pest from the perspective of coral reef aquarium hobbyists. These very characteristics make them easy to grow in the laboratory and thus they are extensively used as model organisms for scientific study. In this respect, Aiptasia have contributed a significant amount of knowledge regarding cnidarian biology, especially human understanding of cnidarian-algal symbioses, a biological phenomenon crucial to the survival of corals and coral reef ecosystems. The dependence of coral reefs on the health of the symbiosis is dramatically illustrated by the devastating effects experienced by corals due to the loss of algal symbionts in response to environmental stress, a phenomenon known as coral bleaching.
Phyllodesmium briareum is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium is a genus of predatory sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Facelinidae.
Tritoniopsis elegans is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae and is found in the western Indo-Pacific. It was first described by the French naturalist Jean Victoire Audouin in 1826, the type specimen being found in the Red Sea.
Phyllodesmium colemani is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Umimayanthus parasiticus, commonly known as the sponge zoanthid, is a species of coral in the order Zoantharia which grows symbiotically on several species of sponge. It is found in shallow waters in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Antipathes is a genus of coral in the order Antipatharia, composed of black coral. Distinct features vary greatly within this genus: it contains symmetrically aligned as well as irregularly shaped corals, a range of different colors, and colonies that can be either sparsely branched or closely packed. polyps for these corals have six tentacles that are each lined with stinging cells. Unlike their reef-building cousins, these coral lack photosynthesizing algae and are not restricted to the lighter surface regions. They prefer to live in deeper waters near currents so they can catch and eat passing zooplankton.
Plexauridae is a family of marine colonial octocorals in the phylum Cnidaria. Members of this family are found in shallow tropical and subtropical seas. Many species contain symbiotic photosynthetic protists called zooxanthellae.
Plexaurella nutans, the giant slit-pore sea rod, is a tall species of soft coral in the family Plexauridae. It is a relatively uncommon species and is found in shallow seas in the Caribbean region.
Pseudoplexaura porosa, commonly known as the porous sea rod or the porous false plexaura, is a species of gorgonian-type colonial octocoral in the family Plexauridae. It is native to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Aphanipathes is a diverse genus of black corals in the family Aphanipathidae, typified by large polypar spines. However, there are some disagreement in the correct taxonomic classification of this genus. The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) classifies Aphanipathes as being a genus of the family Aphanipathidae while the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) classifies it as a genus of the family Antipathidae.
Carijoa is a genus of soft corals in the family Clavulariidae.
Antipathes dichotoma is a species of colonial coral in the order Antipatharia, the black corals, so named because their calcareous skeletons are black. It was first described by the German zoologist and botanist Peter Simon Pallas in 1766, from a single specimen he received from near Marseilles in the Mediterranean Sea.
Clavularia viridis is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Clavulariidae. It is found in shallow waters in the tropical Indo-Pacific.
Seriatopora hystrix is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It forms a branching clump and is commonly known as thin birdsnest coral. It grows in shallow water on fore-reef slopes or in sheltered lagoons, the type locality being the Red Sea. It is native to East Africa, the Red Sea and the western Indo-Pacific region. It is a common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Madracis auretenra, commonly known as the yellow finger coral or yellow pencil coral, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It is a fairly common species and is found in the Caribbean Sea and western Atlantic Ocean. At one time this species was not recognised, but it was split from Madracis mirabilis on the grounds of morphology and depth range.
Briareum is a genus of soft corals in the family Briareidae. The coral is cultivated by aquarium owners for its fluorescing polyps, which reveal themselves under actinic light. The genus is in need of extensive examination, as many specimens sold by marketers display unique and similar characteristics, but are often labeled as one species, Pachyclavularia violacea.
Phyllodesmium poindimiei is an Alcyonacea feeding, aeolid nudibranch Gastropod belonging to the family Facelinidae. Cerata are important in this clade in terms of their physical defense and efficient metabolic processes. This species is spread sporadically along tropical coastal regions such as Australia, Hawaii, and the Indo-Pacific living in diverse marine habitats such as coral reefs. Unlike other species in the Opisthobranch Mollusca clade, P. poindimiei’s lush pink cerata are used for defensive purposes other than Nematocyst (dinoflagellate) capture and toxin release. Organismal ties within these thriving, tropical ecosystems can be determinants of environment change, which affects massive coral ecosystems. Continuously changing marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, are directly linked to the evolution of organisms that live and thrive in the tropics such as the soft nudibrach P. poindimiei.
