An unusual new “sea fan” from the northeastern Pacific Ocean (Cnidaria: Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae)

An unusual new species of gorgonian octocoral, Leptogorgia filicrispa, is described from specimens collected off the coasts of Sonora, Gulf of California (México), Baja California (México), and southern California (U.S.A.). Unusual features include: the long, extremely thin, wiry and brittle branches of the colony; the highly tangled condition of those numerous branches; and general lack of an attachment holdfast. Multiple color forms of the branches, in the same colony, also occur.