Apr 17, 2024
A deep-sea coral's secret weapon against hungry predatorsโsweeper tentacles.
A bamboo coralโs stony branches contain thousands of tiny polyps living and working together. The individual polyps stretch feathery tentacles into the currents to grasp plankton and other particles of food drifting in the currents.
When predators like nudibranchs and sea stars try to make a meal of a coralโs polyps, the colony can put up a fight. These fleshy sweeper tentacles are loaded with powerful stinging cells that gently sway along the base of this shaggy bamboo coral (Isidella tentaculum) to keep predators from crawling up to eat those precious polyps.
Learn more about these captivating corals on our website.
