Blainville, 1834
Cirrhipathes spiralis (1)
Type species: Gorgonia spiralis Linnaeus, 1758
Total number of species estimated: 14.
The most common species: C. spiralis (Linnaeus); C. contorta van Pesch; C. anguina Dana.
Description: Colonies unbranched, whip-like, irregularly twisted, or coiled. Spines triangular to conical, smooth-surfaced, or slightly to distinctly papillose; sometimes with one or more bifurcations at apex; subequal on all sides of the axis or longer on the polyp side. Polyps slightly longer along the sagittal axis than along the transverse axis. Polyps crowded, in multiple rows, usually on three sides of the axis.
Habitat: Reefs.
Range: Tropic and subtropic IndoPacific regions. The highest diversity of species is found in tropical waters.
Zooanthellate: Present in some species (van Pesch, 1914).
Notes: The original descriptions of most species in this genus were based primarily on skeletal characteristics, i.e., the growth form of the corallum (straight, partially coiled, completely coiled, or very irregularly twisted) and the size and shape of the spines. Because of the lack of fresh material, potential species differences in the appearance of the living colonies were not taken into account. As more sampling and in situ photography has been made, it has become apparent that living Cirrhipathes colonies exhibit distinct color patterns which often are the same for very different morphological types. There have been no specific investigations as yet to determine whether these color morphs represent distinct species or whether they are only examples of intra-specific variation. In other genera of antipatharians color differences of living colonies have been reported to be indicative of different species, even in cases where it is difficult to separate the species on skeletal characters alone.
Key references: Brook, 1889, van Pesch, 1914; Pax, 1932.