Gorgonia setacea Pallas, 1766:182.
Remarks. Leptogorgia setacea
is usually unbranched and often completely unattached. When
it is attached it is usually to a small, vacant bivalve shell. The
single branch is usually between 2 and 4 mm in diameter and can
reach 2 m in length (Deichmann 1936). The calyces are arranged in
a single or multiple rows along the sides of the branch, and often
are a darker color than the coenenchyme. The calyces may be moderately
prominent or flush with the coenenchyme. Sclerites are in the form
of acute, warty spindles reaching 0.2 mm in length and smaller,
belted disc spindles and capstans. Anthocodial rods are usually
less than half the length of the large spindles. The colonies are
purple, yellow, or pale lavender with dark purple calyces.
This species shares many characters with L. virgulata, especially
with regard to spiculation. Most L. setacea colonies are
easily recognizable based on colony morphology, but if only fragments
of colonies are available, close examination of the sclerites is
necessary. Both L. setacea and L. virgulata are
common along the southeastern coast of the US and penetrate into
lower salinity habitats such as tidal creeks and bays.
There are numerous lots of this species in the NMNH from
the shallow SAB.
Atlantic distribution: Chesapeake Bay to Florida,
Gulf of Mexico, Colombia to Brazil 1-68 m (one record from Guyana
indicates collection at 9245 m, but this is likely an error in the
data). Deichmann recorded specimens from Bahamas
and West Indies, but no depth was mentioned (Deichmann, 1936; Bayer,
1961; NMNH collections; SERTC collection).
Figure 4. Leptogorgia setacea (S2123); a,
b) spindles from coenenchyme; c, d) disk spindles from coenenchyme;
e) anthocodial rod (scale bar = 20 µm)
Figure 1. Leptogorgia setacea, preserved specimen (S2123),
Figure 2. Leptogorgia setacea section, preserved
specimen (S2123). Scale bar = 3mm.