About Eunicella microthela (Lamouroux, 1816)
Eunicella microthela is a species of sea fan. This sea fan is short, and its colour ranges from pale cream to orange. It can grow either upright or into bushy masses, with irregular or frequent branches that grow from its main basal stem. All sides of its branches are covered in many small bumps, and the polyps of the sea fan extend from these bumps. Mature individuals may reach up to 18 centimetres in height, and their branches measure between 0.2 and 0.4 centimetres wide. This sea fan is exclusively found along the southern African coast, ranging from Lüderitz to Sodwana Bay, and inhabits water depths between 1 and 360 metres. Ecologically, this sea fan typically grows in areas sheltered from strong currents. It is preyed on by the whip fan nudibranch, an organism that strongly resembles the feeding sea fan.
