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sealord > Guernsey cnidaria > Alcyonium glomeratum CB pots 160403 cu 3-657 smg
sealord > Guernsey cnidaria > Alcyonium glomeratum QE II marina 190904 24-753 smg
sealord > Guernsey cnidaria > Alcyonium glomeratum CB pots 160403 36-656 smg
sealord > This image shows the polyps of the pink sea fan, Eunicella verrucosa, extended and feeding. In Guernsey waters a sea slug or nudibranch, Tritonia nilsodhneri, is often associated with this coral. It has cryptic colouration so it is difficult to spot. See http://sealord.smugmug.com/gallery/1935666_37H5G#100427410 This nudibranch is a specialist predator of this sea fan. It lays its eggs in a winding ribbon on the sea fan so that when the embryos hatch they have an amply food supply. The nudibranch is able to neutralise the stinging cells of this sea fan and incorporate the stinging cells in its own tissue for its own defence. Photographed on the 10 February 2006. File No. 100206 2-815 ©RLLord fishinfo@guernsey.net
sealord > The pink sea fan, Eunicella verrucosa, is a protected species in UK waters. It is not uncommon in Guernsey waters. It grows slowly over decades. The fan grows perpendicularly to the direction of the prevailing current so that the polyps with their stinging tentacles have the maximum opportunity to capture food that is carried by the current. Occasionally a sea fan is dislodged from the sea floor by mobile fishing gear or by static gear that has been caught up in a strong swell. Once the sea fan is brought to the surface it cannot survive unless it can be reattached to the sea floor. The colony has a dark brown central skeleton. The pink outer tissue bleaches white when the colony dies and this outer layer will eventually fall off revealing the gorgonin skeleton underneath. This colony was photographed on 10 February 2006. File No. 100206 34-814 ©RLLord fishinfo@guernsey.net
Alcyonium glomeratum CB pots 160403 cu 3-657 smg
Guernsey cnidaria > Alcyonium glomeratum CB pots 160403 cu 3-657 smg
Alcyonium glomeratum CB pots 160403 cu 3-657 smg
See photo in gallery
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