alcyonarians

Alcyonarians, also known as soft corals, are a subclass of the Anthozoa class within the phylum Cnidaria. Unlike their stony coral relatives, alcyonarians do not secrete a hard external skeleton of calcium carbonate. Instead, they possess a leathery or fleshy body and their internal support comes from spicules, which are small, needle-like structures made of calcium carbonate scattered throughout their tissue.

These marine invertebrates are colonial organisms, with many individual polyps living together to form a single, larger structure. Each polyp has a central mouth surrounded by a ring of tentacles. Alcyonarians are found in all the world's oceans, from shallow coastal waters to the deep sea. They are sessile, meaning they attach themselves to a substrate and remain in one place.

Alcyonarians exhibit a wide range of colors and forms, with some resembling bushes, fans, or even mushrooms. They are suspension feeders, capturing plankton and other small organic particles from the water column using their tentacles. Reproduction can be sexual, with individuals releasing sperm and eggs into the water, or asexual, through budding or fragmentation.

The diversity of alcyonarians is immense, with thousands of species described. They play important ecological roles in reef ecosystems, providing habitat and food for other marine life. Some species are also of interest for their potential pharmaceutical compounds.