Bubblegum coral (OTU: CA18)
Paragorgia
Marine Life of the Northeast Pacific (MLNEP) notes 5
According to the systematic of the genus, we get three types in our waters, and from reading about the morphology, I can't tell these two apart in imagery. The OTU will represent the P. cf stephencairnsi & arborea (unless anyone objects?). (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Juan_A_Sanchez/publication/222100894_Systematics_Of_The_Bubblegum_Corals_Cnidaria_Octocorallia_Paragorgiidae_With_Description_Of_New_Species_From_New_Zealand_And_The_Eastern_Pacific/links/53fe2ac30cf283c3583bce3c/Systematics-Of-The-Bubblegum-Corals-Cnidaria-Octocorallia-Paragorgiidae-With-Description-Of-New-Species-From-New-Zealand-And-The-Eastern-Pacific.pdf)
This taxon is often a vibrant pink or orange colour, but may also be a darker purple-grey. It can form small fans or large trees. It usually has a thick central stalk that branches off. Branches have rounded or fluffy ends.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Jennifer Long, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Jennifer Long
- (c) NOAA Photo Library, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/5014817499/
- (c) NOAA Photo Library, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/5015425438/
- (c) Jonathan Rose, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Jonathan Rose
- (c) Dr Cherisse Du Preez, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
