NOAA Okeanos Explorer
Info
The holotype of Chrysogorgia pinnata was badly damaged during collection and now consists of over a dozen fragments, the largest of which is 13 cm wide and 6 cm high.
The complete colony was estimated to be 20 cm high and equally wide.
The in situ photograph, taken before removal, shows that the colony consisted of about 13-15 main branches, all united near the base, with the branches roughly aligned in a plane.
The polyps are elongated, up to 2.8 mm long and 0.8 mm in diameter, and are widely spaced on the branches, which are 4 - 5 mm apart.
They hang vertically on the branches (rarely on the main branches) and are often directed downwards.
The colony is bottle-bush shaped (arborescent, flabellate growth form).
Locations: Davidson and Vance Seamounts off California and Oregon, West Coast USA, East Pacific
Etymology: The species was named after the pinnate arrangement of the branches (lat. pinnatus = pinnate).
The complete colony was estimated to be 20 cm high and equally wide.
The in situ photograph, taken before removal, shows that the colony consisted of about 13-15 main branches, all united near the base, with the branches roughly aligned in a plane.
The polyps are elongated, up to 2.8 mm long and 0.8 mm in diameter, and are widely spaced on the branches, which are 4 - 5 mm apart.
They hang vertically on the branches (rarely on the main branches) and are often directed downwards.
The colony is bottle-bush shaped (arborescent, flabellate growth form).
Locations: Davidson and Vance Seamounts off California and Oregon, West Coast USA, East Pacific
Etymology: The species was named after the pinnate arrangement of the branches (lat. pinnatus = pinnate).
