Sea Fan
Related Category: Zoology: Invertebrates
colonial marine animal forming erect, flattened, branching colonies in tropical and subtropical waters.
Common Sea Fan Gorgonia ventalina
Common sea fans grow attached to the seabed and look like exotic plants. Unlike soft corals, they have a supporting skeleton that provides a framework and allows them to grow quite large.
Sea fans typically grow across the current so that their polyps can spread out their tentacles to form a net for catching microscopic plants (plankton). There are about 500 species of Gorgonia.
Cool Facts
Sea fans' stems are flexible, allowing them to survive in strong currents.
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Corals: Sea Fans, Sea Pen (Philosarcus gurneyi), Moonglow Anenome (Anthopleura artemesia), Burrowing Anenome (Pachycerianthus fimbriatus), Giant Green Anenome (Anthopleura xanthogrammica), Leathery Sea Anenome (Heteractis crispa), Pink Tip Anenome, ...
Broad sea fan
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European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals ...
Discussion Sea fans evoke idyllic tropical seas, and are often collected and dried.
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WildlifeGuides: Nature in North America ...
Anthozoans include sea anemones, a variety of corals, sea fans, and sea pens. Sea anemones are carnivorous polyps that are quite large, ranging up to 200mm in length. They tend to be brightly colored. Most species live in warm water.
Beneath the waves you'll find a strange new world of corals, sea fans and colourful sea slugs.
Puffin
There are 6,000 pairs on Skomer during the breeding season and a 20 minute boat ride gets you a bird's eye view.
Marine invertebrates are a large group, including corals, sea anemones, sponges, sea fans, sea stars, sea urchins and cunjevoi, as well as many crustaceans, molluscs and worms.
More about Marine invertebrates ...
The gorgonians include the whip corals, sea feathers, sea fans, and the precious red coral. Gorgonians are common reef fauna, and can be found in most tropical waters, but especially in the West Indies.
Phylum Cnidaria (Cnidarians) Class Anthozoa (Sea anemones, corals, sea fans)
Order Alcyonacea
Family Alcyonidae ...
Common in shallow reefs. Usually in pairs, often near sea fans and sponges.
Those coral species with eight tentacles are known as Alcyonaria, which includes soft coral, sea fans and sea pens.
Their diet consists almost entirely of sponges and algae, but they will also nibble on sea fans, soft corals, and even jellyfish.
sea fan (Gorgonia sp.)
slipper coral (Polyphyllia talpina)
Spanish shawl nudibranch (Flabelina iodinea)
star polyps (Clavularia sp.)
strawberry anemone (Corynactis californica)
sun coral (Tubastrea aurea)
tongue coral (Polyphyllia talpina) ...
 See also: Coral, Shark, Shell, Sponge, Sea Lion
  
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