Sea Whip

Leptogorgia virgulata

Sea whip lives in the bottom of tidal creeks, or floating  near banks.  They are either purple, red, orange, or yellow with whip like stalks.  The domain is Eukarya, the kingdom is Animalia, the phylum is Cnidaria, the class is Anthozoa, the order is Gorgonacea, the family is Gorgoniidae, the genus is Leptogorgia, and the species is virgulata.  This species is a heterotroph, is ectothermic, and has asymmetry.  Their diet is plankton.  They are prey to burrfish.  A structural adaptation is that sea whip has a whip like structure so it can move around more easily.  Another function adaptation is that they have stinging cells to protect themselves.  A functional adaptation is that they attach to a hard surface so they won’t float.  Sea whip is also a pet.  I got this image from reefguide.org.