Crossword clues for gorgonian
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Gorgonian \Gor*go"ni*an\, a. [L. Gorgoneus.]
-
Pertaining to, or resembling, a Gorgon; terrifying into stone; terrific.
The rest his look Bound with Gorgonian rigor not to move.
--Milton. (Zo["o]l.) Pertaining to the Gorgoniacea; as, gorgonian coral.
Gorgonian \Gor*go"ni*an\, n. (Zo["o]l.) One of the Gorgoniacea.
Wiktionary
a. 1 Of or relating to the Gorgons. 2 Terrible or repulsive. 3 (context biology English) Of or relating to any coral of the order ''Alcyonacea''. n. (context biology English) Any coral of the order ''Alcyonacea''.
WordNet
n. corals having a horny of calcareous branching skeleton [syn: gorgonian coral]
Wikipedia
Alcyonacea is an order of sessile colonial cnidarians found throughout the oceans of the world, especially in the tropics and subtropics. The name "Gorgonacea" is no longer considered valid and Alcyonacea is now the accepted name for the order. Gorgonians are also known as sea whips and sea fans and are similar to the sea pen, a soft coral. Gorgonians are closely related to coral. Individual tiny polyps form colonies that are normally erect, flattened, branching, and reminiscent of a fan. Others may be whiplike, bushy, or even encrusting. A colony can be several feet high and across but only a few inches thick. They may be brightly coloured, often purple, red, or yellow. Photosynthetic gorgonians can be successfully kept in captive reef aquariums.
Gorgonians are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, alongside the orders Alcyonacea (soft corals) and Pennatulacea (sea pens). There are about 500 different species of gorgonians found in the oceans of the world, but they are particularly abundant in the shallow waters of the western Atlantic, including Florida, Bermuda, and the West Indies.
Usage examples of "gorgonian".
As he fought to free his arm of syrupy fronds he saw, sinking towards him through those eddying clouds, a silhouette, a shape whose arms were outstretched, as if crucified, whose flimsy robe billowed and swayed with the currents, whose black hair spread outwards in Gorgonian tresses.
The children had searched for this sugar bowl from the highest peak of the Mortmain Mountains to the underwater depths of the Gorgonian Grotto, but had neither found this sugar bowl nor learned why it was so important.