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The living colonies of the soft coral Sympodium arbusculum from the xenia family are characterized by a membranous morphology with extended polyps, whose color has a bluish or slightly grayish-white tint.
The colonies discovered in the sea consisted of several small, encrusting and membranous colonies firmly attached to an irregular fragment of calcareous material measuring about 10 x 6 cm.
The leaflets on the polyps were arranged in 2 - 3 rows, with 6 - 7 leaflets in the outermost row.
Some leaflets were retracted, but the few that were extended were up to 1 mm long.
The largest colony found was 2.5 x 2 cm, the others were smaller, about 1 cm 2.
Certain parts of the colonies extended into small crevices of the fragment, and the membrane overgrowing the substrate was 1 -1.5 mm thick.
Some of the polyps were fully retracted, while others were partially expanded.
Based on the current findings, this species is believed to be the only representative of the genus in the Red Sea.
Literature reference:
Benayahu, Y.; Ekins, M.; McFadden, C.S. (2021)
Overview of the genus Sympodium (Ehrenberg, 1834) (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea, Xeniidae), with the description of new species, revealing regional endemism.
https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/html/FB5F8935FFD1FFBCFF0CFCED3C44D63D
Published under CC0 Public Domain Dedication
The colonies discovered in the sea consisted of several small, encrusting and membranous colonies firmly attached to an irregular fragment of calcareous material measuring about 10 x 6 cm.
The leaflets on the polyps were arranged in 2 - 3 rows, with 6 - 7 leaflets in the outermost row.
Some leaflets were retracted, but the few that were extended were up to 1 mm long.
The largest colony found was 2.5 x 2 cm, the others were smaller, about 1 cm 2.
Certain parts of the colonies extended into small crevices of the fragment, and the membrane overgrowing the substrate was 1 -1.5 mm thick.
Some of the polyps were fully retracted, while others were partially expanded.
Based on the current findings, this species is believed to be the only representative of the genus in the Red Sea.
Literature reference:
Benayahu, Y.; Ekins, M.; McFadden, C.S. (2021)
Overview of the genus Sympodium (Ehrenberg, 1834) (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea, Xeniidae), with the description of new species, revealing regional endemism.
https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/html/FB5F8935FFD1FFBCFF0CFCED3C44D63D
Published under CC0 Public Domain Dedication
