Gersemia

Gersemia
	Gersemia antarctica
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Cnidaria
Class:	Octocorallia
Order:	Alcyonacea
Family:	Nephtheidae
Genus:	Gersemia; Marenzeller, 1877
Species
	See text

Gersemia is a genus of soft corals in the family Nephtheidae. Species in this genus are found in cold temperate and polar seas at depths ranging from 20 metres (66 ft) to over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). The type species is Gersemia loricata.

Characteristics

Colonies of Gersemia are arborescent, growing erectly with one main stem. The polyps are most numerous at the branch tips and are unable to retract into the calyces. The walls of the stalk and branches are stiffened with sclerites which are often brightly coloured. Corals in this genus do not contain zooxanthellae, the microalgae symbionts found in some other corals.^[2]

Species

The World Register of Marine Species includes the following species in the genus:^[1]

Gersemia antarctica (Kükenthal, 1902)
Gersemia carnea Verrill
Gersemia clavata (Danielssen, 1887)
Gersemia crassa (Danielssen, 1887)
Gersemia danielsseni (Studer, 1891)
Gersemia fruticosa Sars, 1860
Gersemia hicksoni (Gravier, 1913)
Gersemia japonica (Kükenthal, 1906)
Gersemia juliepackardae Williams & Lundsten, 2009
Gersemia lambi Williams, 2013
Gersemia liltvedi (Verseveldt & Williams, 1988)
Gersemia loricata von Marenzeller, 1878
Gersemia marenzelleri Kükenthal, 1906
Gersemia mirabilis (Danielssen, 1887)
Gersemia rubiformis (Ehrenberg, 1834)
Gersemia studeri Verrill
Gersemia uvaeformis (May, 1900)

References

^ ^a ^b Martinez, Olga (2010). "Gersemia; Marenzeller, 1877". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
^ The nephtheid soft coral genus Gersemia Marenzeller, 1878, with the description of a new species from the northeast Pacific and a review of two additional species (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea)

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[WoRMS-1] Martinez, Olga (2010). "Gersemia; Marenzeller, 1877". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2012-01-24.

[2] The nephtheid soft coral genus Gersemia Marenzeller, 1878, with the description of a new species from the northeast Pacific and a review of two additional species (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea)

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