Tanacetipathes tanacetum

Descrição:

Tanacetipathes tanacetum, 80-120 m Flower Garden Banks, Gulf of Mexico. Photograph courtesy of NOAA-FGBNMS/UNCW-UVP. Identifications by D. Opresko. Specimens assigned to this species fall into two groups based on the size of skeletal spines. Colonies with small spines are the typical form, and colonies with larger spines may be an undescribed species. For more information see: Opresko DM, Nuttall MF, Hickerson EL (2016). Black corals of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Gulf of Mexico Science 2016(1): 47-67.