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sea fan

 
Dictionary: sea fan
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n.
Any of various yellowish to reddish fan-shaped corals of the genus Gorgonia, especially G. flabellum, of coastal waters of Florida and the West Indies.


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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: sea fan
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Sea fan
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Sea fan (credit: Douglas Faulkner)
Any of about 500 coral species (genus Gorgonia) especially abundant in shallow waters along the Atlantic coasts of Florida, Bermuda, and the West Indies. Polyps grow colonially in a flat, fanlike pattern. Each polyp has some multiple of six tentacles, which it spreads out to form a plankton-catching net. An internal skeleton supports all branches of the colony. The living tissues (often red, yellow, or orange) entirely cover the skeleton. The fan-shaped colonies usually grow across the current, increasing their ability to ensnare prey. All species grow to about 2 ft (60 cm) high.

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Columbia Encyclopedia: sea fan
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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 medusa), have eight feathery tentacles and feed on plankton organisms. Sea fans are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, order Gorgonacea.

WordNet: sea fan
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: corals having a treelike or fan-shaped horny skeleton

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more