Washington: Researchers have found two new species of beautiful soft coral species, named Gorgonians, in the waters of the Pacific.
The two new species belong to the gorgoniid genus Eugorgia, which is exclusively found in the eastern Pacific.
It has a wide geographic and bathymetric range of distribution, found from California to Peru and extends down to 65 m deep.
The genus Eugorgia is recognised for their vibrant colored colonies decorating the ocean bottom. The white color has been reported only for one species, Eugorgia alba, but this research adds two more pale representatives within the genus.
Both new species E. beebei and E. mutabilis are characterized by pure white color, with the only difference that the latter changes coloration to pale pink and later to a pale gray, when taken out of water.
The study has been published in the journal Zookeys.
