Sea fan (Subergorgia sp). This sea fan, a type of soft coral, is growing on the wreck of the USAT Liberty, an American World War II supply ship. The c

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Sea fan (Subergorgia sp). This sea fan, a type of soft coral, is growing on the wreck of the USAT Liberty, an American World War II supply ship. The coral consists of a colony of small polyps, supported by a strong and flexible endoskeleton made of the protein gorgonin. The individual polyps feed by filtering zooplankton from the water. To increase its catch the fan positions itself so that its flat surface is perpendicular to the water currents. Photographed in Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia.

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Size: 2848px × 4288px
Photo credit: © MATTHEW OLDFIELD/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, aquatic, bali, biological, biology, carnivore, carnivorous, colony, coral, endoskeleton, fan, fauna, feeder, filter, giant, gorgonian, gorgonin, hicksoni, immobile, indonesia, indopacific, invertebrate, invertebrates, marine, nature, ocean, polyps, reef, sea, sessile, soft, subergorgia, tulamben, underwater, wildlife, zoological, zoology