Plexaurella nutans
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| Plexaurella nutans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coral reef assembly with Plexaurella nutans at right back | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Subphylum: | Anthozoa |
| Class: | Octocorallia |
| Order: | Alcyonacea |
| Family: | Plexauridae |
| Genus: | Plexaurella |
| Species: | P. nutans |
| Binomial name | |
| Plexaurella nutans (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860)[1] | |
| Synonyms | |
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Plexaurella nutans, the giant slit-pore sea rod, is a tall species of soft coral in the family Plexauridae. It is a relatively uncommon species and is found in shallow seas in the Caribbean region.
Plexaurella nutans can grow to a height of over a metre (yard).[2] It has thick cylindrical branches that occasionally fork and which are often slightly clubbed at the tips. These have a diameter of 10 to 15 centimetres (3.9 to 5.9 in). The polyps are rather large and protrude from round, oval or slit-shaped grooves in the cup-shaped calyces in the coral skeleton. Each of these calyces is on a slight mound giving the coral a dimpled surface. When the polyps are extended, as they usually are, they give the coral a fuzzy appearance.[3] The colour of this coral is usually pale brown, grey or sometimes lavender.[2]