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Orange sea pens are octo corals that can be found in the temperate waters of the northeastern Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of Alaska to southern California. They are primarily associated with deeper water, though they may inhabit the sandy or muddy seafloor from near the surface to about 1,000 ft deep. Orange CE pens often occur in dense numbers. Their body color ranges from a pale cream to deep orange red and consists of a central stem with branches on either side. Each adult CEN consists of a colony of polyps working together for the survival of the hole. A cpen starts off as one primary
polip that grows and expands to form the base and the central stock. The base is what anchors the C pen into the sediment. As the C pen grows, it adds more polyps that have different jobs depending on their location within the colony. The feeding polyps are found along the branches. The pumping polyps are found near the stem. Each feeding polip has eight tentacles armed with stinging cells surrounding a central mouth. The feeding polyps catch tiny drifting plankton. Cens face toward the current in order to maximize the flow of plankton over the feeding polyps. The feeding polyps are also responsible for reproduction.
The pumping polyps take in or expel water allowing the colony to inflate or deflate. Seens have an intricate system of channels that allow the movement of water and nutrients throughout their body. Fully expanded large adults may extend for about 2 ft out of the sediment. Orange sea pens generally reproduce between March and April. A large mature female can produce upwards of 200,000 eggs that are released and fertilized in the water column. The eggs drift along until they hatch into larvi. Larve eventually settle onto the seafloor. A set of larvae becomes a tiny palip. Orange sepens can be longived, but they are often subject to predation early in life. They are consumed by many
species of sea slugs and sea stars. When orange sea pens are physically disturbed, they can biolumines, producing a greenish blue light that runs up and down the stock and startles predators. They also produce a mild toxin. Additionally, sepens can deflate by retracting their branches into their base to hide from predators. Seens can even relocate and re-anchor themselves if necessary. They can inflate with water and drift along with the currents in order to quickly relocate further away. For more marine facts, click the subscribe button.
