| Purple soft coral | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Octocorallia |
| Order: | Alcyonacea |
| Family: | Alcyoniidae |
| Genus: | Alcyonium |
| Species: | A. fauri |
| Binomial name | |
| Alcyonium fauri Studer, 1910 [1] | |
The purple soft coral (Alcyonium fauri) is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae. [2]
Purple soft corals grow in small colonies of up to 3 cm in height. The diameter of the individual polyps is 0.4 cm. They are usually bright purple, although they may be yellow, pink, red, dark grey or orange. The soft colony is encrusting and variably shaped. Feeding polyps extend eight tentacles into the water column. [3]
This species is known from Saldanha Bay to Richards Bay off the South African coast, and lives from the low intertidal to 90m under water.
This species feeds on microplankton. It is preyed on by the nudibranchs Leminda millecra and two extremely well camouflaged species from the genus Tritonia . [3]
Alcyonacea are a species of sessile colonial cnidarians that are found throughout the oceans of the world, especially in the deep sea, polar waters, tropics and subtropics. Whilst not in a strict taxonomic sense, Alcyonacea are commonly known as "soft corals" (Octocorallia) that are quite different from "true" corals (Scleractinia). The term “soft coral” generally applies to organisms in the two orders Pennatulacea and Alcyonacea with their polyps embedded within a fleshy mass of coenenchymal tissue. Consequently, the term “gorgonian coral” is commonly handed to multiple species in the order Alcyonacea that produce a mineralized skeletal axis composed of calcite and the proteinaceous material gorgonin only and corresponds to only one of several families within the formally accepted taxon Gorgoniidae (Scleractinia). These can be found in order Malacalcyonacea (taxonomic synonyms of include : Alcyoniina, Holaxonia, Protoalcyonaria, 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.
The frilled nudibranch, Leminda millecra, is a species of metarminid nudibranch, and is only found in South Africa. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Charcotiidae.
The soft coral nudibranch, Tritonia sp. 1, as designated by Gosliner, 1987, is a species of small sea slug, a dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae. As of November 2009, it was undescribed by science.
Alcyoniidae is a family of leathery or soft corals in the phylum Cnidaria.
Alcyonium digitatum or dead man's fingers is a species of soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae. It is found around the coasts of the northern Atlantic Ocean and other temperate waters such as the South Pacific.
The multicoloured sea fan is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Melithaeidae.
The Valdivian soft coral is a species of colonial leathery or soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae.
The variable soft coral is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae.
The sun-burst soft coral is a species of colonial soft corals in the family Malacacanthidae. It is the only species known in the genus Malacacanthus.
The cauliflower soft coral is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Nephtheidae.
The gorgonian twig coral is a species of gorgonian sea fan in the family Anthothelidae.
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.
The tubular sponge hydroid is a species of hydroid cnidarian. It is a member of the family Tubulariidae. These animals usually grow embedded in sponges.
Stylaster nobilis, the noble coral, is a branching colonial hydroid in the family Stylasteridae.
Alcyonium acaule or Mediterranean sea-finger is a species of soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae. It is found at moderate depths on shaded rocks in the Mediterranean Sea and adjoining parts of the Atlantic Ocean.
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.
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).
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