ZooKeys
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Muricea plantaginea (Valenciennes, 1846)
Muricea plantaginea is a very large growing horn coral that can easily reach 130cm high and 150cm wide, an effective filter for passing zooplankton.Colony color varies from lighter browns, deep brown to yellowish or whitish, in live colonies the polyps may be whitae or yellow.
Recommendation - the coral should be kept in a species-specific tank.
Feeding
The majority of gorgonians do not have zooxanthellae and do not live off light. Azooxanthellate gorgonians do not host symbiotic algae that produce nutrients and energy through photosynthesis.
The pumps should be switched off before feeding. In order for the gorgonian to survive in the aquarium, each individual polyp must be fed sufficiently, i.e. daily or 3-4 times a week. Without feeding, the gorgonian will not survive in the aquarium. The polyps need a certain amount of time to absorb the food (granules or dust food (Ultramarin, Cyclop Eeze) or frozen food (lobster eggs, mysis)). If shrimp and fish are present, they will try to steal the food, so it is essential to feed these cohabitants beforehand.
Newly introduced gorgonian sticks can be stimulated with a liquid food, e.g., PolypLab Polyp, to encourage the individual polyps to open. Only then can feeding be carried out.
The better the individual polyps take up the food provided, the better the growth and reproduction rates will be.
Azooxanthellate corals eat suspensions, marine snow, microplankton, and other organic matter, which is their natural food.
The species is common in Bajo Lunes (coast of Ecuador, 18-20 meters depth), where it grows on a shallow, rocky bottom covered by sand and thin-grained sediment. The thin-grained sediment floats in the water column and creates high turbidity. The largest colonies were found at this site, up to 120-130 cm high and 150 cm wide.In the Galápagos Islands, the colonies are smaller, about 50 to 60 x 50 - 70 cm, and are found deeper, up to 30 meters, on rocky bottoms and in clear water.Along the coast of Panamá, colonies do not reach more than half a meter in size. The deepest the species has been recorded is 65 meters on Hannibal Bank off the coast of Panamá.
Synonymised names
Eunicea tabogensis Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Gorgonia plantaginea Valenciennes, 1846 · unaccepted > superseded combination (original combination)
Muricea appressa Verrill, 1864 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Muricea appressa typica Verrill, 1846 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Muricea appressa var. flavescens Verrill, 1869 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Muricea tenella Verrill, 1869 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Source:
Breedy O, Guzman HM (2016)
A revision of the genus Muricea Lamouroux, 1821 (Anthozoa, Octocorallia) in the eastern Pacific. Part II.
ZooKeys 581: 1-69. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.581.7910
Muricea plantaginea is a very large growing horn coral that can easily reach 130cm high and 150cm wide, an effective filter for passing zooplankton.Colony color varies from lighter browns, deep brown to yellowish or whitish, in live colonies the polyps may be whitae or yellow.
Recommendation - the coral should be kept in a species-specific tank.
Feeding
The majority of gorgonians do not have zooxanthellae and do not live off light. Azooxanthellate gorgonians do not host symbiotic algae that produce nutrients and energy through photosynthesis.
The pumps should be switched off before feeding. In order for the gorgonian to survive in the aquarium, each individual polyp must be fed sufficiently, i.e. daily or 3-4 times a week. Without feeding, the gorgonian will not survive in the aquarium. The polyps need a certain amount of time to absorb the food (granules or dust food (Ultramarin, Cyclop Eeze) or frozen food (lobster eggs, mysis)). If shrimp and fish are present, they will try to steal the food, so it is essential to feed these cohabitants beforehand.
Newly introduced gorgonian sticks can be stimulated with a liquid food, e.g., PolypLab Polyp, to encourage the individual polyps to open. Only then can feeding be carried out.
The better the individual polyps take up the food provided, the better the growth and reproduction rates will be.
Azooxanthellate corals eat suspensions, marine snow, microplankton, and other organic matter, which is their natural food.
The species is common in Bajo Lunes (coast of Ecuador, 18-20 meters depth), where it grows on a shallow, rocky bottom covered by sand and thin-grained sediment. The thin-grained sediment floats in the water column and creates high turbidity. The largest colonies were found at this site, up to 120-130 cm high and 150 cm wide.In the Galápagos Islands, the colonies are smaller, about 50 to 60 x 50 - 70 cm, and are found deeper, up to 30 meters, on rocky bottoms and in clear water.Along the coast of Panamá, colonies do not reach more than half a meter in size. The deepest the species has been recorded is 65 meters on Hannibal Bank off the coast of Panamá.
Synonymised names
Eunicea tabogensis Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Gorgonia plantaginea Valenciennes, 1846 · unaccepted > superseded combination (original combination)
Muricea appressa Verrill, 1864 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Muricea appressa typica Verrill, 1846 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Muricea appressa var. flavescens Verrill, 1869 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Muricea tenella Verrill, 1869 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Source:
Breedy O, Guzman HM (2016)
A revision of the genus Muricea Lamouroux, 1821 (Anthozoa, Octocorallia) in the eastern Pacific. Part II.
ZooKeys 581: 1-69. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.581.7910
