Narella

Description

General: Long, white, thin. Stems eminate from basal branches. Polyps are very tiny and probably cannot be seen on video, rather it is the calyces that are observable in close-ups. Colonies dichotomously or pinnately branched, or unbranched. Calyces arranged in whorls, the calyces always facing downward. Each polyp enclosed by 3 or 4 pairs of unfused body wall scales (1 pair of basals, 1 or 2 pairs of medials, and 1 pair of buccals), 1–3 pairs of small adaxial buccal scales, and occasionally additional small, unpaired scales on the adaxial body surface. Distal margin of body wall scales often lobate of spinose; dorsolateral edge of basal scales often ridged. Operculum consists of 8 triangular scales, each with a pronounced medial keel on its inner surface. Coenenchymal scales usually elongate or elliptical in shape, often bearing tall vertical keels or ridges.

Geographic Information

Ocean range (global): Cosmopolitan

Published depth range: 55 – 4,594 m

Habitat description: Benthic, hard substrate.

Additional Information

References

Encyclopedia of Life

Tree of Life

World Register of Marine Species

National Center for Biotechnology Information

Cairns, S.D. (2007). Calcaxonian Octocorals (Cnidaria; Anthozoa) from Eastern Pacific Seamounts. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 58: 511-541.

Cairns, S.D. and F.M. Bayer (2008). A review of the Octocorallia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) from Hawai'i and adjacent seamounts: the genus Narella Gray, 1870. Pacific Science, 62: 85-115.