''Pteronisis'' is a genus of
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...
in the family
Mopseidae.
The name derives from Greek ''pteron'', meaning "feather", in allusion to the
pinnate branching.
[Alderslade, P. (1998)]
Revisionary systematics in the gorgonian family Isididae, with descriptions of numerous new taxa (Coelenterata: Octocorallia).
''Records of the Western Australian Museum.'' Supplement No. 55: 1-360.
Description
Most specimens are smaller than 20 cm, but can reach up to at least 36 cm.
The genus is mostly planar, pinnate, and profusely branched, with at least one exception.
Axial
internodes
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nutrien ...
are generally colorless, greyish white, or sometimes pale shades of pink or red.
Axial nodes are generally light to dark brown near the base of the plant, yellowish to yellowish brown in the principal branches, and pale yellow, white, or colorless, with a darker central band, in the pinnae.
References
Isididae
Octocorallia genera
{{Octocorallia-stub