Eunicea asperula

Super Group: 
Eukaryota
Phylum: 
Cnidaria
Class: 
Anthozoa
Order: 
Alcyonacea
Family: 
Plexauridae
Genus: 
Eunicea
Species: 
asperula
Authority: 
Milne Edwards & Haime, 1857

Diagnosis

Colony Form:Bushy candelabrum-like or with a few long branches; to 1 m tall.
Axis:Cylindrical, very thin at branch tips.
Branches:Thick, ascending branches; never broad or flattened, clavate; usually 5-10 mm in diameter.
Apertures:Calices with small, upturned lower lip, never tube-like, usually producing a coarse texture.
Mucus:Absent.
Color:Polyp armature: long curved rods 0.45-0.55 mm long; medium rods irregularly curved (0.14-0.23 mm), small flat rods (0.05-0.12 mm), and occasionally abundant octoradiate forms in tentacles. Axial layer: strongly ornamented spindles, colorless or slightly purple, sometimes including branching processes, to 0.3 mm long. Middle layer: spindles 0.69-1.9 mm long. Surface layer: foliate clubs to 0.15 mm long.
Sclerites:Gray to black with brown polyps. Dry specimens are deep black but with paler calices.

Ecology

Habitat: Reefs or hard bottoms, 25-30 m in depth (complete range unknown). Usually in zones of strong water motion.

Observation site(s)

SYMBIONTS

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Association with... Region origin Name of site In reference...
Symbiodinium- clade B Quintana Roo Cancun
VAN OPPEN MJH, MIEOG JC, SANCHEZ CA, FABRICIUS KE (2005) Diversity of algal endosymbionts (zooxanthellae) in octocorals: the roles of geography and host relationships. Molecular Ecology 14:2403 - 2417. doi: 10.1111/mec.2005.14.issue-810.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02545.x