| Palmate sea fan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| a feeding palmate sea fan | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Octocorallia |
| Order: | Alcyonacea |
| Family: | Gorgoniidae |
| Genus: | Leptogorgia |
| Species: | L. palma |
| Binomial name | |
| Leptogorgia palma | |
The palmate sea fan (Leptogorgia palma) is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae.
This fan grows up to 2 meters in total height and is bright red. It has small white polyps which retract into slits in the colony when not feeding. It has branches which fork from the central flattened trunk. [2]
This sea fan is found only around the South African coast from the Cape Peninsula to Sodwana in 10–100 m of water. It is endemic to this region. [3]
This fan is very slow-growing, at only 15mm per year, so large colonies may be more than 100 years old. It is eaten by a sponge crab ( Pseudodromia latens ), and a topshell snail ( Calliostoma ornatum ). [3]
Jasus lalandii, the Cape rock lobster or West Coast rock lobster, is a species of spiny lobster found off the coast of Southern Africa. It is not known whom the specific epithet lalandii commemorates, although it may the French naturalist and taxonomer Pierre Antoine Delalande.
The crumb-of-bread sponge is a species of sea sponge in the class Demospongiae.
Calliostoma ornatum, common name the ornate topshell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calliostomatidae.
Corynactis annulata, or the strawberry anemone, is a bright pink colonial anthozoan similar in body form to sea anemones and scleractinian stony corals. This species is a solitary animal of the order Corallimorpharia.
Macropodia falcifera, the Cape long-legged spider crab, is a species of marine crab found around the South African coast. It is a member of the family Inachidae.
Haliclona anonyma, the turret sponge or tubular fan sponge, is a species of demosponge. It is endemic to South Africa, where it occurs between the Cape Peninsula and Sodwana Bay.
The walking anemone, also known as the hedgehog anemone or sock anemone, is a species of sea anemones in the order Actiniaria. It is the only member of its genus, Preactis.
The multicoloured sea fan is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Melithaeidae.
The ring-tentacle anemone is a species of sea anemone in the family Isanthidae.
The Cape zoanthid is a species of zoanthid in the family Parazoanthidae.
Leptogorgia virgulata, commonly known as the sea whip or colorful sea whip, is a species of soft coral in the family Gorgoniidae.
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.
Balanophyllia bonaespei is a species of solitary cup coral, a stony coral in the family Dendrophylliidae. It is an azooxanthellate species that does not contain symbiotic dinoflagellates in its tissues as most corals do.
The feathery sea pen is a species of sea pen in the family Virgulariidae.
The gorgonian twig coral is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Anthothelidae.
The whip fan, also called the flagellar sea fan, is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Eunicellidae.
The nippled sea fanEunicella microthela previously known by the junior synonym Eunicella papillosa, is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae.
The sinuous sea fan is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae.
Stylaster nobilis, the noble coral, is a branching colonial hydroid in the family Stylasteridae.
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.
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