: any of an order (Gorgonacea) of colonial often colorful anthozoan corals that have a stiff branching skeleton and include the sea whips and sea fans
gorgonianadjective
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Looking at the patterns of sessile, or immobile, species like corals, macroalgae, sponges, and gorgonians—a type of coral that includes sea fans—the team found that animals living in deeper waters were likely to have longer lives.—National Geographic,
31 Mar. 2018 Sunlight streams through the water, backlighting a large gorgonian.—
Enric Sala,
Discover Magazine,
22 Sep. 2015
Word History
Etymology
New Latin Gorgonia, a coral genus, from Latin, coral, from Gorgon-, Gorgo