Tanacetipathes spinescens

Appearance

Branches columnar, shaped as a bottlebrush. Relatively short primary pinnules with extensive subpinnula-
tion on both the anterior and posterior primary pinnules.

Distribution

Eastern Central Atlantic: Cape Verde, Liberia and Sao Tome and Principe.

Reproduction

Members of the class Anthozoa are either gonochoric or hermaphroditic. Mature gametes are shed into the coelenteron and spawned through the mouth. Life cycle: The zygote develops into a planktonic planula larva. Metamorphosis begins with early morphogenesis of tentacles, septa and pharynx before larval settlement on the aboral end.