Cnidaria
Eudendrium sp.
1. In situ (Greg McFall)
2. Out of water (Steve Vives)
3. Out of water (Steve Vives)
4. Out of water-Hydroid is covered by frog egg tunicate, Diplosoma listerianum (Steve Vives)
Size
Colony height: reaching 15-20cm (6-8")
Recognition Characters
Grows in bushy colonies of irregularly arranged branches with the stems bearing polyps. The polyps sport a trumpet-shaped hypostome characteristic of the family. Colonies are either male or female. If female, polyps bear a sporosac that looks like a minute orange. Male colonies bear grapelike clusters of orange sacs known as gonophores.
Color
Branches are reddish brown to brown dotted by orange reproductive organs. Polyps are white to pinkish white.
Habitat & Depth
Colonize ledges, rocks, wrecks, pilings and reefs. To 25m.
Distribution at GRNMS
Common. Attached to ledges and rocky outcroppings.
Geographic Range
Georgia
Behavior & Notes
Commonly a prey species of the sea spider, Anoplodactylus lentus, and small nudibranchs Doto chica and Dondice occicendatils.
Synonyms
Meinkoth 1981, Ruppert and Fox 1988