The octocorals of the Ellisellidae constitute a diverse and widely distributed family with subdivisions into genera based on colonial growth forms. Branching patterns are repeated in several genera and congeners often display region-specific variations

The octocorals of the Ellisellidae constitute a diverse and widely distributed family with subdivisions into genera based on colonial growth forms. Branching patterns are repeated in several genera and congeners often display region-specific variations

The octocorals of the Ellisellidae constitute a diverse and widely distributed family with subdivisions into genera based on colonial growth forms. Branching patterns are repeated in several genera and congeners often display region-specific variations

The whip-like gorgonian Viminella flagellum (Alcyonacea, Ellisellidae) has an Atlantic-Mediterranean distribution. In Italian seas, the species is a common component of deep-sea rocky environments from the north-western Mediterranean area to the Strait