Preview
Family
Plexauridae
Common Name(s)
Black sausage coral.
Colony Form
Fingerlike colony of few thick long branches arising from near the base in all directions, to ~80 cm tall.
Axis
Cylindrical in cross-section.
Branches
Branches are >50% of colony height, 10-18 mm in diameter, with bulbous tips.
Apertures
Well-spaced around branches; hemispherical, surrounded by eight small lobes and with long lower lip that sometimes covers upper lip.
Mucus
Absent
Color
Medium brown. Dark polyps.
Sclerites
Polyp armature of rods 0.05-0.2 mm long. Axial layer: ornate, colorless or pale violet spindles. Middle layer: diverse spindle forms usually 0.5-1.7 mm long. Surface layer: foliate clubs, enlarged or robust, 0.1-0.19 mm long.
Habitat
Leeward terrace reefs and hard bottoms, 5-20 m depths.
Distribution
South Florida, Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico, and throughout the Caribbean Sea.
Similar Species
Date Taken
4-11-2016
Notes
Branches are thickest in the genus. Grows mainly through asexual propagation, often via fallen stolon-like branches.