''Leptogorgia'' is a genus of
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 ...
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 east and west coasts of America.
Characteristics
Originally the members of the family G ...
. The genus has a widespread distribution with members being found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Western Europe to South Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic coasts of North and South America, the Antilles and the Pacific coast of America. Species are found in both shallow and deep waters.
''Leptogorgia'' is a slow growing sea whip and are easily damaged. They are easily damaged by storms and fishing agriculture.
An as yet unnamed species of ''Leptogorgia'' was discovered off the coast of
Sonoma County, California in November 2014, near the
Gulf of the Farallones and
Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries.
Species
The
World Register of Marine Species
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms.
Content
The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialis ...
lists the following species:
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3319742
Gorgoniidae
Cnidarian genera
Taxa named by Henri Milne-Edwards