sea fan

n. Any of various gorgonian corals having a flexible branching skeleton in the shape of a fan.

sea fan

n (Animals) any of various corals of the genus Gorgonia and related genera, having a treelike or fan-shaped horny skeleton: order Gorgonacea (gorgonians)

sea′ fan`

n. any of certain gorgonian corals, esp. Gorgonia flabellum, of the West Indies, in which the colony assumes a fanlike form.

Thesaurus

Noun

sea fan - corals having a treelike or fan-shaped horny skeletongorgonian, gorgonian coral - corals having a horny or calcareous branching skeleton

sea fan

sea fan,

colonial marine animal forming erect, flattened, branching colonies in tropical and subtropical waters. Colonies may be several feet high and are often colorful, with purples, reds, and yellows predominating. The individuals, or polyps (see polyp and medusapolyp and medusa,
names for the two body forms, one nonmotile and one typically free swimming, found in the aquatic invertebrate phylum Cnidaria (the coelenterates). Some animals of this group are always polyps, some are always medusae, and some exhibit both a polyp and a medusa
..... Click the link for more information. ), have eight feathery tentacles and feed on plankton organisms. Sea fans are classified in the phylum CnidariaCnidaria
or Coelenterata
, phylum of invertebrate animals comprising the sea anemones, corals, jellyfish, and hydroids. Cnidarians are radially symmetrical (see symmetry, biological).
..... Click the link for more information. , class Anthozoa, order Gorgonacea.

sea fan

[′sē ‚fan] (geology) submarine fan (invertebrate zoology) A form of horny coral that branches like a fan.

sea fan

sea fan

sea fan

sea′ fan`

sea fan

sea fan,

sea fan

sea fan

Words related to sea fan

noun corals having a treelike or fan-shaped horny skeleton

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