Annella

Scientific name : Annella

These are the typical giant fans, over 2 m tall. Planar branchings, densely reticulated. Small polyps completely retractile inside a thick coenenchyme. Colour red, more often yellow or pink. A genus quite common along the deep reef, in areas swept by strong currents. Like all the large gorgonians it can be host for many associated animals: commensal shrimps, crabs like Quadrella sp., hawk fishes, gobies, the pygmy seahorse Hippocampus denise, parasitic ovulids. The netowrk like branching makes this genus unique. There are 3 species: Annella mollis has elongated meshes, A. reticulata and A. ornata (maybe synonyms) have shorter, polygonal meshes.
Until recent times those species where considered belonging to Suberogorgia genus.