Gorgonian Sea Fan

Muricella plectana

Gorgonian often hosting the pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti). Indo-Pacific distribution. Located at depths of 20-45 m, on the outer slope of the main reef, and in channels and canyons on the lagoon.
Gorgonian Seafan - Muricella plectana Nudi's Retreat, Lembeh. Geotagged,Gorgonian Sea Fan,Indonesia,Muricella plectana,Spring

Appearance

The large fans are up to 1.20 m tall and wide. Their branches are thick and the coenenchymal spindles are of medium size, no longer than 0.8 mm.

The tentacles are red in life, contrasting to the white sclerites. Most specimens observed are branched in one plane, some with the terminal branches directed to one side.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=290402

Coral Reef Gorgonians of New Caledonia
By Manfred Grasshoff, Georges Bargibant, 2001
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionCnidaria
ClassAnthozoa
OrderAlcyonacea
FamilyAcanthogorgiidae
GenusMuricella
SpeciesMuricella plectana
Photographed in
Indonesia
Philippines