Cnidaria · cnidarians

Common sea fan

Gorgonia ventalina

Gorgoniidae · sea fansIUCN: Not evaluated

A purple, net-like sea fan coral that grows broadside to the current to catch passing food.

Fun factA fungal disease called aspergillosis killed large numbers of Caribbean sea fans in the 1990s.

Waters
Tropical Atlantic & Caribbean
Depth zone
Coral reefs
Diet
Plankton & symbiotic algae
Size
Up to about 1.5 m tall

Classification

Cnidaria › Anthozoa › Gorgoniidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Phylum Cnidaria cnidarians
    • Radially symmetric bodies with one opening that is both mouth and anus
    • Stinging cells (cnidocytes) fire tiny harpoons (nematocysts)
    • Two body forms: an attached polyp and a swimming bell (medusa)
  3. Class Anthozoa corals & anemones
    • Live only as polyps; there is no swimming jellyfish stage
    • Gut is divided by internal walls (mesenteries)
    • Includes corals and sea anemones
  4. Subclass Octocorallia soft corals & sea fans
    • Polyps have exactly eight feathery (pinnate) tentacles
    • Internal skeleton of tiny limestone grains (sclerites) and often a flexible protein core
    • Includes sea fans, sea whips, and soft corals
  5. Family Gorgoniidae sea fans
    • Sea fans and sea whips with a flexible protein (gorgonin) axis
    • Often grow flat, net-like fans facing the current
  6. Genus Gorgonia
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  7. Species Gorgonia ventalina Common sea fan

Closest relatives in the guide