Family: Plexauridae

Common Name(s): Bent sea rod.

Colony Form: Variable: bushy, candelabrum, sometimes dense stands of short branches; dichotomous branching. Maximum height ~1 m.

Axis: Cylindrical to elliptical in cross-section.

Branches: Profuse; terminal branches often short, same thickness from base to tip.

Apertures: Low apertures, sometimes with a very smooth and small lower lip.

Mucus: Absent

Color: Beige to bright ochre. Some morphs can be purple or blue. Polyps are slightly lighter than the colony.

Sclerites: Polyp armature of ornate rods 0.05-0.3 mm long; no collar. Axial layer: purple capstans and spindles, diversely arranged and ornamented, 0.01-0.26 mm long. Middle layer: robust spindles to 4.5 mm long. Surface layer: club sclerites to 0.22 mm long; heads with foliated and fused lobules, sometimes slightly serrated.

Habitat: All kinds of reefs and rocky-coral environments from very shallow (0.5 m) to 50 m.

Distribution: Widespread: Bahamas, Bermuda, South Florida, Gulf of Mexico, and throughout the Caribbean Sea.

Notes: Common in shallow areas with Plexaura homomalla. It has the smallest polyps of all Eunicea species. Colonies in deeper waters and gentle slopes exhibit vegetative propagation.

References: Cairns (1977), Grajales et al. (2007), Sánchez, J.A. (2009), MSIP (2010).

Similar Species: Eunicea fusca; Eunicea pallida