Tearing of octocorals

Tearing of octocorals. In Sinularia, a distinctive smooth base consisting of calcareous sclerites remains after the tissue is torn off. Remaining branches of a gorgonian fan; this Annella measured >2.5 m in diameter before the cyclone. Octocorals, other than Sinularia, Heliopora and gorgonians, leave no traces when torn off as colony fragments disintegrate rapidly.