Andrey Ryanskiy, Russland
Info
Special thanks for the first photo of Melithaea delicata to Andrey Ryanskiy, Russia.
Melithaea delicata was formerly known as Acabaria delicata.
This gorgonian has very fine, bifid branches with small, regularly spaced, not densely packed tubercles from which small white polyps emerge.
The colour of the coral is white with yellow-orange, reddish-pink at the intersections, the colouration can spread over the branch, it is found on coral reefs, under overhangs and in caves.
Reproduction: The anthozoan class is gonochoric or hermaphroditic.
Mature gametes are secreted in the coelenteron and appear through the mouth, fertilisation is external.
Larvae are planktonic before settling and developing on the substrate.
To complete the identification, it is necessary to analyse the sclerites (small calcareous structures that give some rigidity to the soft tissues of the gorgonians, internal element of the skeleton) with a microscope
Synonym: Acabaria delicata Hickson, 1940
Melithaea delicata was formerly known as Acabaria delicata.
This gorgonian has very fine, bifid branches with small, regularly spaced, not densely packed tubercles from which small white polyps emerge.
The colour of the coral is white with yellow-orange, reddish-pink at the intersections, the colouration can spread over the branch, it is found on coral reefs, under overhangs and in caves.
Reproduction: The anthozoan class is gonochoric or hermaphroditic.
Mature gametes are secreted in the coelenteron and appear through the mouth, fertilisation is external.
Larvae are planktonic before settling and developing on the substrate.
To complete the identification, it is necessary to analyse the sclerites (small calcareous structures that give some rigidity to the soft tissues of the gorgonians, internal element of the skeleton) with a microscope
Synonym: Acabaria delicata Hickson, 1940
