''Cirrhipathes'' is a genus of
black coral
Antipatharians, also known as black corals or thorn corals, are an order of soft deep-water corals. These corals can be recognized by their jet-black or dark brown chitin skeletons, which are surrounded by their colored polyps (part of coral th ...
from the family
Antipathidae
Antipathidae is a family of corals in the Order (biology), order Antipatharia, commonly known as black corals. They are generally considered a deep-water taxon; however, some of the most diverse communities are known from tropical shallow waters. ...
. Coral species in this genus are commonly known as whip or wire corals because they often exhibit a twisted or coiled morphology. In addition to their colorful appearance, with colors ranging from yellow to red passing through blue and green, these species possess a dark skeleton that is characteristic to every black coral.
Distribution
Commonly found in
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
and
subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
areas, these corals are part of the reefs in the Indian and Pacific oceans, sometimes as shallow as but often at depths greater than . Long and unbranched, ''Cirrhipathes'' species are attached to
coral reefs
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
...
.
Description
Like all corals, ''Cirrhipathes'' species are made of and covered by
polyps
A polyp in zoology is one of two forms found in the phylum Cnidaria, the other being the medusa. Polyps are roughly cylindrical in shape and elongated at the axis of the vase-shaped body. In solitary polyps, the aboral (opposite to oral) en ...
. These polyps are responsible for providing defense and feeding mechanisms in the form of stinging structures known as
nematocysts
A cnidocyte (also known as a cnidoblast) is a type of cell containing a large secretory organelle called a ''cnidocyst'', that can deliver a sting to other organisms as a way to capture prey and defend against predators. A cnidocyte explosively ...
. These structures, which are present in their tentacles, are fired at preys or predators. The characteristic barbed-wire-like appearance of ''Cirrhipathes'' species is the result of their inability to completely retract their polyps. They can grow up to more than three meters in length.
[Wildscreen Arkive. Accessed via http://www.arkive.org/black-corals/cirrhipathes-spp/ on 2015-04-03]
Corals in this genus have different ways of obtaining nutrients. While some species obtain nutrients from their
mutualistic interaction with
photosynthetic
Photosynthesis ( ) is a Biological system, system of biological processes by which Photoautotrophism, photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical ener ...
zooxanthellae
Zooxanthellae (; zooxanthella) is a colloquial term for single-celled photosynthetic organisms that are able to live in symbiosis with diverse marine invertebrates including corals, jellyfish, demosponges, and nudibranchs. Most known zooxanthell ...
, others obtain their food by simply capturing small floating animals with their tentacles. When kept in aquariums, wire corals being carnivorous organisms should be fed on small, meaty items such as baby brine, rotifers, cyclop-eeze, fish eggs, and other zooplankton feeds.
From their interaction with the zooxanthellae, the ''Cirrhipathes'' obtain essential molecules and in return, protection and access to sunlight are provided to the zooxanthellae. Furthermore, important habitats that house numerous species of marine organisms are formed by these corals. It is even believed that the survival of two species of shrimp depends entirely on these corals.
References
Further reading
*Gaino, Elda, and Francesca Scoccia. "Female gametes of the black coral Cirrhipathes cfr. anguina (Anthozoa, Antipatharia) from the Indonesian Marine Park of Bunaken." Invertebrate Reproduction & Development 51.3 (2008): 119–126.
*Gaino, Elda, et al. "Sperm morphology in the black coral Cirrhipathes sp.(Anthozoa, Antipatharia)." Invertebrate Biology 127.3 (2008): 249–258.
*Bavestrello, Giorgio, et al. "Helicospiral growth in the whip black coral Cirrhipathes sp.(Antipatharia, Antipathidae)." The Biological Bulletin 222.1 (2012): 17–25.
*Wagner, Daniel, Daniel G. Luck, and Robert J. Toonen. "2 The Biology and Ecology of Black Corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia: Antipatharia)."Advances in marine biology 63 (2012): 67.
External links
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Advanced Aquarist - Black Corals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cirrhipathes
Antipathidae
Hexacorallia genera
Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean
Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean
Marine fauna of Asia
Marine fauna of Oceania
Marine fauna of Southeast Asia