Gorgonia ventalina

Gorgonia ventalina, the purple sea fan, is a species of sea fan, an octocoral in the family Anthothelidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
Description
Gorgonia ventalina is a fan-shaped colonial coral with several main branches and a latticework of linking smaller branches. The skeleton is composed of calcite and gorgonion, a collagen-like compound. The calyces in which the polyps are embedded are in two rows along the branches. Many of the smaller branches are compressed in the plane of the fan, a fact that distinguishes this species from the Venus sea fan (Gorgonia flabellum). It often has small accessory fans growing out sideways from the main fan. It grows to 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall and is variable in colour, being whitish, yellow or pale purple. The main branches are often purple and the fan is orientated at right angles to the current.
Distribution and habitat
Gorgonia...