NOAA Okeanos Explorer
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About 1,500 kilometers as the crow flies between Hawaiii and Johnston Atoll; despite the great distance, the deep-water gorgonian Narella hawaiiensis has been found at both sites.
Distribution: known from Pioneer Bank to Bushnell Seamount, Hawaiiian Islands (Cairns & Bayer 2007); South Karen Ridge (southeast of Johnston Atoll).
The largest colony examined (the holotype) had a height of 23cm (A Review of the Octocorallia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) from Hawaii‘i
and Adjacent Seamounts: The Genus Narella Gray, 1870 1); the in situ image of the Okeanos specimen also clearly shows an unbranched colony about 66cm high.
Commensal polychaete or ophiuroids were not found in this species, unlike many other deep-water gorgonians.
Similar species: The species most similar to Narella hawaiiensis is Narella ferula.
Etymology: The gorgonian was named after the region where it was collected, i.e. Hawaiii.
Synonyms:
Narella hawaiinensis Cairns & Bayer, 2008
Narella hawaiinensis Cairns & Bayer, 2007 [2008].
Distribution: known from Pioneer Bank to Bushnell Seamount, Hawaiiian Islands (Cairns & Bayer 2007); South Karen Ridge (southeast of Johnston Atoll).
The largest colony examined (the holotype) had a height of 23cm (A Review of the Octocorallia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) from Hawaii‘i
and Adjacent Seamounts: The Genus Narella Gray, 1870 1); the in situ image of the Okeanos specimen also clearly shows an unbranched colony about 66cm high.
Commensal polychaete or ophiuroids were not found in this species, unlike many other deep-water gorgonians.
Similar species: The species most similar to Narella hawaiiensis is Narella ferula.
Etymology: The gorgonian was named after the region where it was collected, i.e. Hawaiii.
Synonyms:
Narella hawaiinensis Cairns & Bayer, 2008
Narella hawaiinensis Cairns & Bayer, 2007 [2008].
