Acanella soft corals (no English common name)
Acanella
Genus-level entry: species are told apart only by microscopic features (sclerites). Valid genus (WoRMS, AphiaID 125303, checked 2026-10-31). Species recorded from the Maldives: Acanella africana.
Possibly present in the Maldives
- English
- Acanella soft corals (no English common name)
- Scientific
- Acanella
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- IUCN status
- NE · Not EvaluatedNot Evaluated (NE) as a genus; most species not assessed
- Record in the Maldives
- Possibly present
Description
A deep-sea bamboo coral: a sea fan with jointed stems made of alternating white limestone and dark horny sections. In the Maldives it is known from specimens and literature records from deep water, below normal diving depth. Species are told apart only by microscopic features.
In the Maldives
Recorded from the Maldives: museum specimens (n=4). Only one kind of evidence was found, so it is listed as possibly present.
Sources
- marinespecies.org /aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=125303
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Acanella.jpg
Dhivehi name source: No species-level Dhivehi name found in Dhivehi Wikipedia, SeaLifeBase (country: Maldives) or MRS/MMRI invertebrate publications.