Preview
Family
Plexauridae
Common Name(s)
Knobby candelabra.
Colony Form
Candelabra or bushy with few long, irregular branches; to 1.8 m in height.
Axis
Cylindrical in cross-section.
Branches
Long branches 5-15 mm in diameter (not including calices).
Apertures
calices tubular, prominent, with lower lip longer than upper one.
Mucus
Absent
Color
Dark brown to black. Calyx tube lighter than the rest of the colony, and polyps with pale brown tentacles.
Sclerites
Polyp armature: robust rods 0.15-0.57 mm and small rods 0.08-0.18 mm; little sclerite bodies and octoradiate forms in tentacles. Axial layer: ornate, lavender or purple spindles, or irregular bodies, to 0.25 mm. Middle layer: robust spindles 0.58-2.66 mm long, 0.08-0.72 in diameter. Surface layer: small foliate and irregular clubs 0.07-0.19 mm long.
Habitat
Semi-exposed reefs in 10-30 m.
Distribution
Widespread: Bahamas, Bermuda, South Florida, Gulf of Mexico, and throughout the Caribbean Sea.
Similar Species
Date Taken
4-11-2016
Notes
Very long polyps, among the largest in Eunicea. Branch thickness and polyp length highly variable. Sánchez (2009) found two morphotypes (except for the type Material): a slender form ~20 cm tall with branches to 12 cm long, often with few, chiefly small, club sclerites, larger polyp rods and robust middle layer sclerites visible at the surface. The thick form reaches ~40 cm tall, with thick branches to 2 cm across near the base, mostly to 20 cm long.