The multicoloured sea fan (''Melithaea rubra)'' is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Melithaeidae
''Melithaeidae'' is a family of corals in the suborder Scleraxonia. Members of the family are commonly known as sea fans and are found on reefs in the tropical regions of the Indo-Pacific.polyps emerge from knobs on the surface of the colony. It is variably coloured, with the colony being red, yellow, white or pink, and the individual polyps being white, yellow or red.Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E. 2010. ''Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa''
Distribution
This sea fan is found only around the South African coast from
Bloubergstrand
Bloubergstrand is a seaside suburb of the City of Cape Town, South Africa, along the shores of Table Bay, due north of the city centre of Cape Town. The name Bloubergstrand literally means "blue mountain beach" in Afrikaans, and is derived ...
to East London in 10–30 m of water. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to this region.
Ecology
These sea fans are found on vertical surfaces on reefs and under overhangs, usually orientated perpendicularly to the water flow. It may grow in assemblages with
sponge
Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...
tunicate
Tunicates are marine invertebrates belonging to the subphylum Tunicata ( ). This grouping is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords (including vertebrates). The subphylum was at one time ...
s. It is preyed upon by the coral nudibranch, ''
Phyllodesmium horridum
''Phyllodesmium horridum'', the coral nudibranch, is a species of sea slug, specifically an aeolid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Distribution
This species is found around the South African coast from ...
'', as well as the walking anemone, '' Preactis millardae''.Jones, Georgina. ''A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula.'' SURG, Cape Town, 2008.