Cnidaria

Class ANTHOZOA

Subclass HEXACORALLIA

Astrangia poculata - Northern Star Coral

Morphology: Hexacorallia cnidarian with a colony height of 12 cm and a width of 12 cm, with individual polyps 0.6cm in diameter. They can be translucent to brown in color and have 30 septa with well-developed columellae.

Distribution: North West Atlantic and West Atlantic as well as the Gulf of Mexico.

Habitat: Depth range from 0-263 meters colonizing rocky shores and encrusting limestone reefs and ledges.

Life History: Often forms a symbiosis with zooxanthellae, but can also be azooxanthellate. New polyps can be added by fission to the colony.

Reference: Georgia Southern University

Bunodosoma cavernata - Warty Sea Anemone

Morphology: Greenish-brown to black, 40 rows of warts on column, ~ 100 small tentacles

Distribution: North Carolina to Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

Habitat: Near low water line, attached to rock or buried in sand

Life History: Mobile

Reference: Hexacorallians of the World, Seashore Animals of the Southeast: A Guide to Common Shallow-Water Invertebrates of the Southeastern Atlantic Coast (Ruppert and Fox 1988),

Source: University of Florida

Subclass OCTOCORALLIA

Leptogoria virgulata - Sea Whip

Morphology: Soft octocorallians possess 8 tentacles with a single siphonglyph. Branches are arranged around a central axis and are moderately branched in whip like stalks. Polyps are in multiple rows along two sides of each branch. Purple, red, orange, or yellow.

Distribution: Along east coast of the North America, from Chesapeake Bay to Florida and in Brazil. Found at Grice Beach

Habitat: Generally found in salinities from 26-36.4 ppt, with a temperature range from 13-31º C. Rock and limestone ledges are preferable at a depth of 3 to 20 meters.

Life History: Sessile with adult reaching 15-20 cm with spicule formation mostly occurring at the branch tips.

Reference: Smithsonian Marine Station at Ft. Pierce

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