#holaxonia

[animalids]

Violescent sea-whip (Paramuricea clavata)

Photo by Yann Querrec

[marinelitter]

Derelict fishing gear and other marine debris smother existing animals and create an unstable habitat for those organisms that survive the initial impact. Here some examples of litter items on Condor seamount, west-southwest of Faial Island in the Azores, and interactions with local fauna. 

A) close up of a Dentomuricea cf. meteor entangled within a longline

B) glass bottle next to Dentomuricea cf. meteor 

C) lost wooden box used by fisherman to hook their longlines

D) several Dentomuricea cf. meteor partially damaged

Reference (Open Access):  Pham et al. 2017. Abundance of litter on Condor seamount (Azores, Portugal, Northeast Atlantic). Deep Sea Research Part II Topical Studies in Oceanography

[20000fish]

Sea fan (Isis hippuris)

Another specimen in Nemo's cases is "isis coral from the Molucca Islands" (20,000 Leagues p. 74). The genus Isis contains one species, Isis hippuris; along with many other coral species, its common name is the sea fan. A steroid isolated from the coral has recently appeared in the scientific literature as a possible treatment for cancer.