One of the most commonly observed organisms on Dive 05 was this sea pen, an Umbellula species with four large polyps. This is a type of octocoral, a colonial animal with polyps that bear eight tentacles. The black spots in the center of each polyp are the mouths. The polyps are joined at the base, share a stomach, and there is an internal skeleton in the long rod that attaches to the bottom. This animal is specialized to live in soft sediments and stays in place by inserting a bulb into the sediment.
Sea Pen
Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Gulf of Mexico 2018.
One of the most commonly observed organisms on Dive 05 was this sea pen, an Umbellula species with four large polyps. This is a type of octocoral, a colonial animal with polyps that bear eight tentacles. The black spots in the center of each polyp are the mouths. The polyps are joined at the base, share a stomach, and there is an internal skeleton in the long rod that attaches to the bottom. This animal is specialized to live in soft sediments and stays in place by inserting a bulb into the sediment. Download larger version (jpg, 714 KB).
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