Red sea fan
Paramuricea clavata
- Scientific name
- Paramuricea clavata
- Group
- Cnidarians (corals, anemones, jellyfish)
- Rarity
- Common
- Where to see it
- Mediterranean
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Vulnerable
Did you know?
The red sea fan grows in fan-shaped colonies oriented perpendicular to the current, an ideal position for filtering the maximum amount of plankton. Its extremely slow growth, just a few millimeters a year, makes it especially vulnerable to mass die-offs during marine heatwaves.
What defines this group — Cnidarians (corals, anemones, jellyfish)
Corals, anemones and jellyfish: the same simple animal, anchored to the bottom or drifting in open water.
- All armed with cnidocytes, harpoon cells that fire on contact.
- A body arranged in rays around a single opening, serving as both mouth and exit.
- Hard corals host algae in their tissue: it is their departure that causes bleaching.