NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
Info
Placogorgia rudis is a medium to large typical yellow sea fan with bush-like structures, remarkably the colonies can be bicolored and have yellow branches with red or purple color on adjacent branches or at the distal tip.
Placogorgia rudis shares a rough morphology with a large number of similar yellow Plexauridae that are indistinguishable in situ!
The horn coral can only be distinguished from several morphologically similar genera by examining the sclerites.
The coral prefers rocky substrates to which it can attach itself.
The colors are created by the absorption of carotenoids, which are permanently stored in the stabilizing calcite skeleton during the growth phases.
These carotenoids are absorbed by the coral in the form of astaxanthin, which is formed in the sea by phytoplankton, algae and aquatic plants.
Placogorgia rudis shares a rough morphology with a large number of similar yellow Plexauridae that are indistinguishable in situ!
The horn coral can only be distinguished from several morphologically similar genera by examining the sclerites.
The coral prefers rocky substrates to which it can attach itself.
The colors are created by the absorption of carotenoids, which are permanently stored in the stabilizing calcite skeleton during the growth phases.
These carotenoids are absorbed by the coral in the form of astaxanthin, which is formed in the sea by phytoplankton, algae and aquatic plants.
