Arturo Velasco, Mexiko
Info
Synonyms
The genus Eugorgia occurs exclusively in the eastern Pacific Ocean and is distributed from southern California to Peru and on oceanic islands.
Eugorgia is characterized by fan-shaped to bushy colonies with one or more levels.
The branches of the colonies are lateral, sometimes dichotomous or pinnate, often bushy, and combinations thereof.
The colonies can adhere to hard substrates, debris, and coarse sand or muddy sediments.
The genus Eugorgia is known for its brightly colored colonies. The white color has only been described for one species, Eugorgia alba Bielschowsky, 1929 in the ampla group (), although white specimens have been observed both in collections and in the field.
The colonies are orange, pink, purple, red, white, or yellow, some with colored rings around the polyp mounds. These are formed by the arrangement of darker or lighter sclerites around the polyp opening; in some cases, they do not surround the polyps but are only sparsely distributed, giving the branches a speckled appearance.
The polyps are completely retractable into the coenenchyme and are located in slightly raised to prominent mounds, arranged in a series of longitudinal rows or evenly distributed on the branches.
The coenenchyme sclerites are of various types: spindle-shaped, disc-shaped, capstan-shaped.
The color of the sclerites is variable: brownish, orange, red, purple, white, yellow, or combinations thereof.
Based on morphological characteristics, the species are divided into three groups: the daniana group, the ampla group, and the monospecific rubens group.
For the recently described species Eugorgia siedenburgae Breedy & Guzman, 2013, a new group has been proposed, characterized by bushy, irregularly pinnate, two-colored colonies.
We were only able to find limited data in the specialist literature; Slat reaches a height of 32 cm and a width of 38 cm.
The growth form of the coral is described as flabellata; it is irregularly pinnate and laterally branched.
Our special thanks for the first photo of this rarely discussed species go to Arturo Velasco, marine biologist at the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Synonyms:
Eugorgia forreri Studer, 1883 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Eugorgia mexicana Verrill, 1868 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Gorgonia (Eugorgia) mexicana Verrill, 1868 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Gorgonia aurantiaca (Horn, 1860) · unaccepted > superseded combination
Lophogorgia aurantiaca Horn, 1860 · unaccepted > superseded combination (original combination)
The genus Eugorgia occurs exclusively in the eastern Pacific Ocean and is distributed from southern California to Peru and on oceanic islands.
Eugorgia is characterized by fan-shaped to bushy colonies with one or more levels.
The branches of the colonies are lateral, sometimes dichotomous or pinnate, often bushy, and combinations thereof.
The colonies can adhere to hard substrates, debris, and coarse sand or muddy sediments.
The genus Eugorgia is known for its brightly colored colonies. The white color has only been described for one species, Eugorgia alba Bielschowsky, 1929 in the ampla group (), although white specimens have been observed both in collections and in the field.
The colonies are orange, pink, purple, red, white, or yellow, some with colored rings around the polyp mounds. These are formed by the arrangement of darker or lighter sclerites around the polyp opening; in some cases, they do not surround the polyps but are only sparsely distributed, giving the branches a speckled appearance.
The polyps are completely retractable into the coenenchyme and are located in slightly raised to prominent mounds, arranged in a series of longitudinal rows or evenly distributed on the branches.
The coenenchyme sclerites are of various types: spindle-shaped, disc-shaped, capstan-shaped.
The color of the sclerites is variable: brownish, orange, red, purple, white, yellow, or combinations thereof.
Based on morphological characteristics, the species are divided into three groups: the daniana group, the ampla group, and the monospecific rubens group.
For the recently described species Eugorgia siedenburgae Breedy & Guzman, 2013, a new group has been proposed, characterized by bushy, irregularly pinnate, two-colored colonies.
We were only able to find limited data in the specialist literature; Slat reaches a height of 32 cm and a width of 38 cm.
The growth form of the coral is described as flabellata; it is irregularly pinnate and laterally branched.
Our special thanks for the first photo of this rarely discussed species go to Arturo Velasco, marine biologist at the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Synonyms:
Eugorgia forreri Studer, 1883 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Eugorgia mexicana Verrill, 1868 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Gorgonia (Eugorgia) mexicana Verrill, 1868 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Gorgonia aurantiaca (Horn, 1860) · unaccepted > superseded combination
Lophogorgia aurantiaca Horn, 1860 · unaccepted > superseded combination (original combination)
