Did you know that the Orange Sea Pen is named after the old fashioned quill pen? The Orange Sea Pen belongs to the group of soft corals called, Subselliflorae.

 

The Orange Sea Pen is normally red, yellow, or orange. The bulb of the sea pen is concealed in the sand on the sea floor. The Orange Sea Pen is sedentary and can be found alone or in small groups. It can grow more than 6 feet tall and 18 inches wide! The Orange Sea Pen belongs to the phylum Cnidaria, which are anemones.

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The Orange Sea Pen lives in the ocean all over the world! It can be found in tropical waters to the Arctic Ocean. They live in habitats that range in depth from 45 to 225 feet. The Orange Sea Pen uses root-like growths to hold itself to the sea floor. The Orange Sea Pen is not currently endangered, but its biggest threat at this time is humans.

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The Orange Sea Pen feeds mainly on plankton, which lives in deeper waters. One of the ways that the Orange Sea Pen catches its food is by its tentacles. For example the Sea Pen makes its home in the currents of the water, where it can catch plankton is the tentacles of its polyps.

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The Orange Sea Pen’s predators are most sea stars and nudibranches. The types of nudibranches that attack the Orange Sea Pens are Armina loveni, Tritonia festiva, and Hermissenda crassicornis. When Sea Pens are in danger they can push water out to burrow themselves into the sand to hide.

 

The Orange Sea Pen is a very interesting and unique animal. One thing that makes it different from other animals is that the Orange Sea Pen can only be seen at night. Another interesting thing about the Orange Sea Pen is that when they are touched they produce a bright green light called bioluminescence. The Sea Pen is a sedentary coral that is found all around the world.

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Author: Kallista M

Published: 02/2013

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Sources: Tashjian, John “Sea Feather” Encyclopedia Americana, 1988 ed. http://racerocks.com.html Orange Sea Pen Graeme http://scubadiverlife.com.html http://wikipedia.com.html http://ehow.com.html Marissa Toner http://vichighmarine.com.html http://aminaldiversity.umzz.html