Preview
Family
Ellisellidae
Common Name(s)
Red sea whip, Devil's sea whip
Colony Form
Unbranched, whiplike, to ~8 mm across near the base and sometimes >2 m in length, slightly tapered.
Axis
Cylindrical; calcified, solid, with a radial pattern visible in cross section.
Branches
None
Apertures
Calices upturned, rounded, prominent, sometimes scale-like, in two or multiple lateral bands.
Mucus
None
Color
Orange to red. Polyps white. Brick red to white dried.
Sclerites
Polyp armature: Small flattened double spindles in tentacles; small rods ~0.04 mm long in pharynx. Calices: elongated double spindles to 0.12 mm long. Outer layer: chiefly double-headed dumbbells with crowded regular tubercles, to 0.06 mm long. Axial layer: chiefly flattened capstans to 0.08 mm long. Color: amber to colorless.
Habitat
Deeper reefs, especially on steep slopes and walls in 25-220 m.
Distribution
Bahamas, Florida, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea.
Date Taken
4-11-2016
Notes
Formerly referred to as Ellisella barbadensis. Unlike most local octocorals, C. barbadensis belongs to suborder Calcaxonia; members have a calcified, solid axis without a hollow core.