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sea fan

noun

  1. any of certain anthozoans, especially Gorgonia flabellum, of the West Indies, in which the colony assumes a fanlike form.


sea fan

noun

  1. any of various corals of the genus Gorgonia and related genera, having a treelike or fan-shaped horny skeleton: order Gorgonacea (gorgonians)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of sea fan1

First recorded in 1625–35
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Example Sentences

Ancestors of modern octocorals, a group that includes soft corals and sea fans, evolved bioluminescence at least 540 million years ago, roughly double the previous estimate of this trait’s age, researchers report.

Witman pointed to heat waves in the Mediterranean that have led to an increase in coral bleaching and death of corals and sea fans.

Bright sunlight filtered through the turquoise water, and a sea fan swayed in the current.

It has the brain's most glorious neurons, called Purkinje cells, which possess tendrils that spread like a sea fan coral and harbor complex electrical dynamics.

The massive wreck proved to be a snorkeling wonderland, sheltering a profusion of colorful corals, sea fans and fish.

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