Drs. Steve Morton & Susan DeVictor
Info
Telesto fruticulosa was encountered and described in 2010 by Drs. DeVictor & Morton off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida (South Atlantic Bight, East Coast USA) in very different water depths
Telesto fruticulosa is a very common species in hard-bottom habitats within the SAB, where the coral colonizes areas with rocky ledges and hard bottoms, but also occurs on shipwrecks.
The colonies of Telesto fruticulosa are monopodially branched and are usually found in multi-branched colonies, with daughter polyps sometimes developing into tertiary branches.
The colonies form long stems with branched stalks, with a large, single, white polyp at the tip of each stalk.
The white polyps of Telesto fruticulosa are usually expanded during the day, but retract into the cylindrical calyxes when exposed to disturbance.
The color of the colonies is yellow or orange, often with a reddish tinge and sometimes completely bright red, but the coenenchyma can also be covered by fouling organisms such as sponges and bryozoans and "pretend" to be a different, sometimes much stronger color.
The fourth photo from the left shows a colony in a crisp red-orange, but this coloration is due to a sponge that has encrusted the coral!
The overgrowth by a sponge led to the assumption that it was the similar species Telesto sanguinea (blood-red).
Synonym: Telesto fructiculosa Dana, 1846
Our very special and heartfelt thanks for the permission to use all color photos from the article "Identification guide to the shallow water (0-200 m) octocorals of the South Atlantic Bight" goes to the two authors Drs. Steve Morton & Susan DeVictor, USA.
Telesto fruticulosa is a very common species in hard-bottom habitats within the SAB, where the coral colonizes areas with rocky ledges and hard bottoms, but also occurs on shipwrecks.
The colonies of Telesto fruticulosa are monopodially branched and are usually found in multi-branched colonies, with daughter polyps sometimes developing into tertiary branches.
The colonies form long stems with branched stalks, with a large, single, white polyp at the tip of each stalk.
The white polyps of Telesto fruticulosa are usually expanded during the day, but retract into the cylindrical calyxes when exposed to disturbance.
The color of the colonies is yellow or orange, often with a reddish tinge and sometimes completely bright red, but the coenenchyma can also be covered by fouling organisms such as sponges and bryozoans and "pretend" to be a different, sometimes much stronger color.
The fourth photo from the left shows a colony in a crisp red-orange, but this coloration is due to a sponge that has encrusted the coral!
The overgrowth by a sponge led to the assumption that it was the similar species Telesto sanguinea (blood-red).
Synonym: Telesto fructiculosa Dana, 1846
Our very special and heartfelt thanks for the permission to use all color photos from the article "Identification guide to the shallow water (0-200 m) octocorals of the South Atlantic Bight" goes to the two authors Drs. Steve Morton & Susan DeVictor, USA.
