Gorgonian

[ gawr-goh-nee-uhn ]

noun

1. any of numerous alcyonarian corals of the order Gorgonacea, having a usually branching, horny or calcareous skeleton.

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the Gorgonacea.

Gorgonian

¹

/ ɡɔːˈɡəʊnɪən /

adjective

1. of or resembling a Gorgon

gorgonian

²

/ ɡɔːˈɡəʊnɪən /

noun

1. any coral of the order Gorgonacea, having a horny or calcareous branching skeleton: includes the sea fans and red corals

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Gorgonacea

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gorgonian¹

1825–35; < New Latin Gorgoni ( a ) genus name ( Gorgon, -ia ) + -an

Example Sentences

In different areas of the north-western Mediterranean, coral and gorgonian populations are, according to the authors of the study, "getting worse and worse," as the percentage of affected colonies is going from mostly unimpacted or lightly impacted populations in the 2012/14 period, to moderately and severely impacted populations in the 2015/2019 and 2020/2022 periods.

From Science Daily

The first results revealed that, in all the populations that suffered mortality due to the high temperatures over the last years, "the white gorgonian was the most affected one, with 80% of the populations being severely affected, while in the case of the red gorgonian, 50% of the populations were severely affected," note the researchers.

From Science Daily

More sensitive areas are scratched with bushy stalks of the soft gorgonian coral Rumphella aggregata—a practice researchers have appropriately termed “gorgoning”—whereas hardened areas, such as the head and tail fluke, are scraped on the wrinkled surface of a species of leather coral in the genus Sarcophyton and a species of stiff sea sponge in the genus Ircinia.

From Scientific American

To examine the molecular makeup of the mucus, the researchers collected small samples of gorgonian coral, leather coral and Ircinia sponges from two reefs that serve as dolphin hubs.

From Scientific American

These centimeter-long Pygmy seahorses live exclusively amongst gorgonian sea fan corals.

From Scientific American