| Virgulariidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| feathery sea pen | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Anthozoa |
| Order: | Pennatulacea |
| Suborder: | Subsessiliflorae |
| Family: | Virgulariidae Verrill, 1868 |
| Genera | |
Virgulariidae is a family of sea pens, a member of the subclass Octocorallia in the phylum Cnidaria.
Colonies are bilateral, long and slender to very slender. The colony axis is noticeable and present throughout. [1]
The World Register of Marine Species lists the following genera: [2]
Anthozoa is a class of marine invertebrates which includes the sea anemones, stony corals and soft corals. Adult anthozoans are almost all attached to the seabed, while their larvae can disperse as part of the plankton. The basic unit of the adult is the polyp; this consists of a cylindrical column topped by a disc with a central mouth surrounded by tentacles. Sea anemones are mostly solitary, but the majority of corals are colonial, being formed by the budding of new polyps from an original, founding individual. Colonies are strengthened by calcium carbonate and other materials and take various massive, plate-like, bushy or leafy forms.
The Venus flytrap sea anemone is a large sea anemone that superficially resembles a Venus flytrap. It closes its tentacles to capture prey or to protect itself. It is a deep ocean species.
Hexacorallia is a class of Anthozoa comprising approximately 4,300 species of aquatic organisms formed of polyps, generally with 6-fold symmetry. It includes all of the stony corals, most of which are colonial and reef-forming, as well as all sea anemones, and zoanthids, arranged within five extant orders. The hexacorallia are distinguished from another class of Anthozoa, Octocorallia, in having six or fewer axes of symmetry in their body structure; the tentacles are simple and unbranched and normally number more than eight. These organisms are formed of individual soft polyps which in some species live in colonies and can secrete a calcite skeleton. As with all Cnidarians, these organisms have a complex life cycle including a motile planktonic phase and a later characteristic sessile phase. Hexacorallia also include the significant extinct order of rugose corals.
Edwardsia is a genus of sea anemones, the type of the family Edwardsiidae. They have eight mesenteries and live in tubes in the sand. The name, in New Latin, commemorates the French zoologist Henri Milne-Edwards.
Anemonia sulcata, or Mediterranean snakelocks sea anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae from the Mediterranean Sea. Whether A. sulcata should be recognized as a synonym of A. viridis remains a matter of dispute.
Discosomidae is a family of marine cnidarians closely related to the true sea anemones (Actiniaria). It contains five genera:
Diadumene lineata, the orange-striped green sea anemone, has several morphotypes which have been described multiple times.
Pectiniidae was a family of stony corals, commonly known as chalice corals, but the name is no longer considered valid.
Echinoptilidae is a family of sea pens, a member of the subclass Octocorallia in the phylum Cnidaria.
The feathery sea pen is a species of sea pen in the family Virgulariidae.
Actinernoidea is a superfamily of sea anemones in the order Actiniaria, Until 2014, this taxon was considered to be a separate suborder of the family Actiniaria.
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.
Cirrhipathes is a genus of black coral from the family Antipathidae. Coral species in this genus are commonly known as whip or wire corals because they often exhibit a twisted or coiled morphology. In addition to their colorful appearance, with colors ranging from yellow to red passing through blue and green, these species possess a dark skeleton that is characteristic to every black coral.
Maasella is a genus of soft coral in the family Paralcyoniidae. It is monotypic, with only a single species, Maasella edwardsi. Usually of greenish brown or golden brown color, each polyp has eight pinnate tentacles. This soft coral is found in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, at depths of between 2 and 50 metres.
Conotrochus is a genus of small corals in the family Caryophylliidae. It holds four species.
Colangia is a genus of small corals in the family Caryophylliidae.
Coenosmilia is a genus of small corals in the family Caryophylliidae.
Dasmosmilia is a genus of small corals in the family Caryophylliidae.
Leptastrea is a genus of massive reef building stony corals known primarily from the Indo-Pacific. Although previously assigned to Faviidae, Budd et al. (2012) assigned it to Scleractinia incertae sedis based on phylogenetic results demonstrating the polyphyly of Faviidae.
The slender sea pen is a species of sea pen in the family Virgulariidae, occurring throughout the Mediterranean and Western Europe, with some colonies being found on islands in the Mid-Atlantic.
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