| Eunicella cavolini | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Anthozoa |
| Order: | Alcyonacea |
| Family: | Gorgoniidae |
| Genus: | Eunicella |
| Species: | E. cavolini |
| Binomial name | |
| Eunicella cavolini | |
Eunicella cavolini, commonly known as the yellow gorgonian or yellow sea whip, is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Gorgoniidae. It is native to parts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Ionian Sea where it is a common species.
Eunicella cavolini is a much-branched soft coral growing to a height of about 50 cm (20 in). It is fan-shaped with the irregular, cylindrical branches largely growing in a single plane. The stem has an enlarged base fixed to the substrate and the branches are smooth, short and about 3 mm (0.12 in) thick. The coenenchyme (the thin fleshy covering of the stiff skeleton) is yellowish-orange. The polyps are white to yellow, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and arranged in four rows. [2] Eunicella cavolini can be confused with the warty gorgonian ( Eunicella verrucosa ), but that sea fan has rougher branches, or with Leptogorgia sarmentosa , but that species has straighter, more slender branches with smaller polyps. [2]
Eunicella cavolini is common throughout the Mediterranean Sea. It grows mainly between 10 and 30 m (33 and 98 ft) but can be found as deep as 150 m (492 ft). It is normally found in a shallower zone than the violescent sea-whip ( Paramuricea clavata ). It is often found growing in association with other soft corals, sponges, polychaete worms, bryozoans, barnacles and winged oysters. [2]
The polyps expand their tentacles to catch zooplankton. The food fragments are passed to the mouth and then move into the gut to be digested. The nutrients are then transferred to all parts of the colony via channels in the living matrix of the branches. The fan is usually orientated perpendicular to the current so as to maximise the capture of prey. [2]
Colonies are either male or female and breeding takes place during the summer. Polyps in male colonies liberate sperm into the water and the eggs are fertilised inside the gastric chambers of female polyps in other colonies. The embryos develop into planula larvae which are released into the sea. After drifting as part of the plankton for one to four weeks, these settle on suitable surface and undergo metamorphosis into new polyps. These develop into new colonies by budding. The growth rate is slow, at about 1 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.8 in) per year. [2]
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.
Eunicella verrucosa, the broad sea fan, pink sea fan or warty gorgonian, is a species of colonial Gorgonian "soft coral" in the family Gorgoniidae. It is native to the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and the western Mediterranean Sea.
Simnia spelta is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Ovulidae, the ovulids, which are cowrie allies sometimes called "false cowries". It was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus.
The multicoloured sea fan is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Melithaeidae.
Leptogorgia virgulata, commonly known as the sea whip or colorful sea whip, is a species of soft coral in the family Gorgoniidae.
Melithaea ochracea is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Melithaeidae, commonly known as knotted fan coral. It grows in tree-like fans on coral reefs in the South China Sea. It is used in the jewellery industry under the name red spongy coral.
Leptogorgia hebes, commonly known as the regal sea fan or false sea fan, is a species of soft coral in the family Gorgoniidae. It was formerly included in the genus Lophogorgia but that genus has been dismantled.
The sinuous sea fan is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae.
Swiftia pallida is a species of gorgonian-type octocoral in the family Plexauridae sometimes known as the northern sea fan. At one time it was considered to be a subspecies of Swiftia rosea.
Amphianthus dohrnii, the sea fan anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Hormathiidae. It occurs in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea and grows on sea fans.
Paramuricea clavata, the violescent sea-whip, is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Plexauridae. It is found in shallow seas of the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and the north-western Mediterranean Sea as well as Ionian Sea. This species was first described by the French naturalist Antoine Risso in 1826.
Leptogorgia sarmentosa is a species of colonial soft coral, a sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the western Mediterranean Sea, with a single find in the eastern Mediterranean.
Alcyonium coralloides, commonly known as false coral, is a colonial species of soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. In the former location it generally grows as sheets or small lobes but in the latter it is parasitic and overgrows sea fans.
Eunicella singularis, the white gorgonian, is a species of colonial soft coral, a sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae. It is found in the western Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea. It was first described in 1791 by the German naturalist Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper.
Astroides is a genus of stony cup corals in the family Dendrophylliidae. It is monotypic and the only species is Astroides calycularis, which is endemic to the western Mediterranean Sea. The species was first described in 1766 by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas.
Antillogorgia bipinnata, the bipinnate sea plume, is a species of colonial soft coral, a sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea. It was first described as Pseudopterogorgia bipinnata in 1864 by the American zoologist Addison Emery Verrill. Williams and Chen (2012), transferred all the Atlantic species of Pseudopterogorgia to Antillogorgia.
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.
Savalia savaglia, commonly known as gold coral, is a species of colonial false black coral in the family Parazoanthidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea where it often grows in association with a gorgonian. It is extremely long-lived, with a lifespan of 2,700 years, and develops into a large tree-like colony.
Gorgonia mariae, commonly known as the wide-mesh sea fan, is a species of sea fan, a sessile colonial soft coral in the family Gorgoniidae. It occurs in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea at depths down to about 50 m (160 ft).
Leiopathes glaberrima is a species of black coral of the order Antipatharia found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Seas deep water habitats. A very slow-growing species, it is among the oldest living animals on the planet.