''Antillogorgia bipinnata'', the bipinnate sea plume, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of colonial

soft coral Alcyonacea, or soft corals, are an order of corals. In addition to the fleshy soft corals, the order Alcyonacea now contains all species previously known as "gorgonian corals", that produce a more or less hard skeleton, though quite different f ...

, a sea fan in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Gorgoniidae Gorgoniidae is a family of soft corals, a member of the subclass Octocorallia in the phylum Cnidaria. Nearly all the genera and species are native to the east and west coasts of America. Characteristics Originally the members of the family G ...

. It is found in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. It was first described as ''Pseudopterogorgia bipinnata '' in 1864 by the American zoologist Addison Emery Verrill. Williams and Chen (2012), transferred all the Atlantic species of ''

Pseudopterogorgia ''Pseudopterogorgia'' is a genus of soft coral sea fans in the family Gorgoniidae Gorgoniidae is a family of soft corals, a member of the subclass Octocorallia in the phylum Cnidaria. Nearly all the genera and species are native to the eas ...

'' to ''

Antillogorgia ''Antillogorgia'' is a genus of soft coral, sea fans in the family Gorgoniidae. Species The World Register of Marine Species lists the following species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an ...

Description

''Antillogorgia bipinnata'' is a colonial soft coral growing in the form of a bipinnate fan usually in a single plane. It can grow to a height of about with a slightly smaller width. It consists of a main stem with several branches, with regularly-spaced pairs of branchlets. The branchlets are stiff, slightly flattened, and typically long and in diameter. They are spaced about apart and project at an angle of about 65° from the branch. The apertures from which the polyps protrude are small and slit-like and are arranged in staggered double rows on either side of the branchlets. The colour of this sea fan is usually violet or purple but may be yellow or whitish.

Distribution and habitat

''Antillogorgia bipinnata'' is found in shallow water reefs in the Bahamas, South Florida and the Caribbean Sea. It usually grows in the depth range but can grow as deep as .

Biology

Mature specimens of ''Antillogorgia bipinnata'' have

symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

unicellular algae known as zooxanthellae in their tissues, but these are not present in the planula larvae and the polyp into which it metamorphosizes. Researchers reared these larvae in algae-free environments and then attempted to infect the resulting polyps with various strains of

dinoflagellate The dinoflagellates (Greek δῖνος ''dinos'' "whirling" and Latin ''flagellum'' "whip, scourge") are a monophyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes constituting the phylum Dinoflagellata and are usually considered algae. Dinoflagellates are ...

. Some of these were observed to be attracted to the polyps and actively swam into their open mouths; successful infection was achieved with some strains of dinoflagellate and not with others.

Secondary metabolites

Several secondary metabolites have been isolated from ''Antillogorgia bipinnata'' including the cytotoxic cembranoids denoted bipinnatin A to D, and the diterpene bipinnatin J.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2881123 Gorgoniidae Corals described in 1864