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Home » Taxonomy » Animalia » Cnidaria » Anthozoa » Octocorallia » Alcyonacea » Calcaxonia » Chrysogorgiidae Verrill, 1883 » Metallogorgia Versluys 1902 -
Taxonomy
Metallogorgia Versluys 1902
Nomenclature
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Order: CalcaxoniaFamily: Chrysogorgiidae Verrill, 1883
Genus:
Metallogorgia Versluys 1902
SUMMARY
This taxon is easily identified by its tall stalk and the abundance of distal branching. While young colonies can have additional branches along the stem, older, taller colonies are typically characterized by important branching at the top of only. Along the stem of these colonies, scars of shed, secondary branches are visible. Colonies are found on hard substrates to which they are attached by a disk-like holdfast. Metallogorgia has always been found in close association with the brittle start Ophiocreas oedipus: the echinoderm has never been found on another coral or substrate, and all Metallogorgia examined were accompanied by an ophiuroid.