#virgularia

[colorsoutofearth]

Translucent coral goby (Bryaninops erythrops) in Seapen (Virgularia gustaviana)

Photo by Georgette Douwma

[20000fish]

Sea pen (Genus Virgularia)

The genus Virgularia consists of 22 species, some of the many coral species  known as sea pens. Aronnax identified "an admirable genus Virgularia from Norwegian waters" in the Nautilus's salon (20,000 Leagues p. 74). He presumably recognized one of the three species in Vigularia identified before he boarded the Nautilus in 1866. Pictured is Virgularia mirabilis, the slender sea pen, which can indeed be found in Norwegian waters (along with the rest of the Atlantic).