Gorgoniacea
- noun
- Archaic
- Scientists used to classify many sea fans under Gorgoniacea.
Examples
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The Gorgoniacea were once distinguished by their fan-like colonial forms.
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Specimens from the Gorgoniacea are often found in tropical oceans.
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The Gorgoniacea order includes fascinating colonial corals.
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Many marine biologists study Gorgoniacea for their unique structures.
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Many marine species rely on the habitat provided by Gorgoniacea in coral reefs.
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Researchers discovered that Gorgoniacea corals can thrive in various oceanic conditions.
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The biologist explained how Gorgoniacea contribute to the biodiversity of marine ecosystems.
Synonyms
A coral with a branching hard skeleton that lives in warm seas
A group of soft corals like sea fans and red corals that live in warm oceans
A group of soft sea animals like corals that have tentacles with eight branches
A group of soft corals with flexible, fleshy bodies that do not build hard skeletons and live in warm seas
A group of soft corals and sea anemones with tentacles that branch into eight parts and eight internal walls
A sea animal with hard tree-like branches that lives in warm water
Compounds
Surface Forms
Etymology
Gorgoniacea comes from the coral name Gorgonia, which in turn comes from Gorgon, a Greek 'monster' with wild, snake-like hair, because the fan-shaped corals were thought to look a little like that wild hair. The ending -acea marks a 'group' of related living things, so Gorgoniacea was the old name for the group of sea fans and similar corals.