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In the waters around the island of Tasmania, which belongs to Australia, a deep-sea gorgonian was collected with the help of an underwater vehicle.
The species name "tasmaniensis" assigned to it refers to the location where the coral was found around Tasmania, where the animal seems to be endemic.
While colonies of Aurogorgia tasmaniensis rocky substrates are clearly single whips, they appear as complex whips when growing on rocky coral reef substrates.
On the National Collections and Marine Infrastructure site there is a photo from the submarine, here various single-stemmed whips can be seen, which at first glance may also resemble a colony of tube eels: https://blog.csiro.au/biodiversity-club/
The species name "tasmaniensis" assigned to it refers to the location where the coral was found around Tasmania, where the animal seems to be endemic.
While colonies of Aurogorgia tasmaniensis rocky substrates are clearly single whips, they appear as complex whips when growing on rocky coral reef substrates.
On the National Collections and Marine Infrastructure site there is a photo from the submarine, here various single-stemmed whips can be seen, which at first glance may also resemble a colony of tube eels: https://blog.csiro.au/biodiversity-club/
