Sea pens has a stunning resemblance to classic quill pens, hence the name. But these soft corals of the order Pennatulacea also be seen in the shape of an umbrella or even a golf club. Like other coral species, sea pens also feature individual polyps with eight tentacles for catching planktons. They bury themselves under a wide array of substrate, mud, sand, or solid rock and easily detach once they decide to look for a new home.
Sea pens are the only one of several marine species discovered in the Philippines' Verde Islands during the Philippine Wildlife Expedition in 2011. They can grow up to 3 meters and survive a wide range of marine habitats including the dark sea floors near Antarctica.
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