Family Gorgoniidae

Leptogorgia euryale (Bayer, 1952)

Eugorgia euryale Bayer, 1952:186, fig. 1 o-s.

Remarks. This work represents the first record of this species in the SAB. This species is unbranched and very slender (1-2 mm) in comparison to other Leptogorgia species in the SAB. The prominent, conical calyces are biserial along the sides of the branch, sometimes alternating, with the apertures separated by approximately 3 mm. The colonies examined for this work are pale orange or pale pink with dark pink calyces with yellow apertures. A band of dark pink tissue, giving the appearance of a pink lateral stripe, connects the calyces. The inner coenenchyme immediately adjacent to the axis is dark pink. The coenenchyme contains elongate (up to 0.15 mm) warty spindles, asymmetrical disk spindles, and flat, serrate anthocodial rods that approach the length of the longest spindles. It appears as though this species may exist unattached as some specimens have growing tips on both ends. One fragment examined had a very small branchlet on which the calyces were separated by 5 mm or more.
This species is abundant in the Gulf of Mexico but unreported in the SAB prior to this work.

Atlantic distribution: South Carolina, Gulf of Mexico (Florida), 15-91 m (Bayer, 1952; 1961; NMNH collections; SERTC collection).

Figure 3. Leptogorgia euryale (S425); a-c) disc spindles from coenenchyme; d-f) spindles from coenenchyme; g, h) large spindles from coenenchyme; i, j) flat rods from anthocodia. Scale bar = 20 µm for a-f, i and j; scale bar = 50 µm for g and h.

Figure 1. Leptogorgia euryale, preserved specimen (scale bar = 1 mm).

Figure 2. Leptogorgia euryale (preserved specimen) showing calyces and orientation of sclerites.