Juergen Freund / Chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompilius) with red whip coral. Osprey Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia.

Doug Perrine / Red whip coral {Ellisella sp} Bahamas

Juergen Freund / Whip coral {Stichopathes sp} Sulu-sulawesi seas, Indo Pacific

Alex Mustard / Zanzibar whip coral shrimp (Dasycaris zanzibarica) on whip coral. Ambon Bay, Ambon, Maluku Archipelago, Indonesia. Banda Sea, tropical west Pacific Ocean.

Franco Banfi / Red sea whip coral (Ellisella sp) Lighthouse Reef, Cabilao Island, Bohol, Central Visayas, Philippines, Pacific Ocean.

Alex Mustard / Red whip coral (Ctenocella sp.) with a school of fish above. Fiabacet Islands, Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram Sea, Tropcial West Pacific Ocean

Ingo Arndt / Fan Coral (Ctenocella pectinata) from Lizard Island, Australia in collection at Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt, Germany.

Ingo Arndt / Fan Coral (Ellisella sp) from Chagos Archipelago, in a collection at Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt, Germany.

Georgette Douwma / Gorgonian / Sea whip coral (Ellisella ceratophyta), West Papua, Indonesia.

Georgette Douwma / Gorgonian / Sea whip coral (Ellisella ceratophyta), coral reef, West Papua, Indonesia.

Georgette Douwma / Gorgonian / Sea whip coral (Ellisella ceratophyta), West Papua, Indonesia.

Georgette Douwma / Gorgonian / Sea whip coral (Ellisella ceratophyta), close up, West Papua, Indonesia.

Georgette Douwma / Gorgonian / Sea whip coral (Ellisella ceratophyta) with Ring tailed cardinalfish (Apogon aureus) swimming in front, West Papua, Indonesia.

Linda Pitkin / Sea whips, gorgonian coral (Ellisella sp.) Cape Kri, Dampier Strait, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, March 2016

Alex Mustard / Seawhip gorgonian (Ctenocella / Ellisella sp) growing in a coral cavern. Ra Province, Viti Levu, Fiji, Polynesia, Pacific Ocean

Pascal Kobeh / Red whip coral (Ellisella cercidia) and a Delicate sea whip (Junceella fragilis) Palau Philippine Sea

Georgette Douwma / Red sea whip coral (Ellisella ceratophyta) Similan Islands, Andaman Sea, Thailand.

Georgette Douwma / Gorgonian (Ellisella sp.) growing on granite boulder. Similan Islands, Andaman Sea, Thailand.

Georgette Douwma / Gorgonian whip coral (Ellisella sp.) Similan Islands, Andaman Sea, Thailand.

Juergen Freund / Harlequin ghost pipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus) amongst Red sea whips (Ellisella sp) Kimbe Bay, New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

Pascal Kobeh / Diver near barrel sponge (Xestospongia testudinaria), hard coral (Porites sp) and red whip coral (Ctenocella sp), Walindi, Papua New Guinea, Bismarck Sea.

Alex Mustard / Golden damselfish (Amblyglyphidodon aureus) hiding amongst the branches of red whip coral (Ctenocella sp.) Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia.

Solvin Zankl / Whip coral (Ellisella ceratophyta) on reef, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean.

Solvin Zankl / Whip coral (Ellisella ceratophyta) on reef, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean.

Georgette Douwma / Sea Whip (Ellisella ceratophyta) on coral reef. Komodo National Park, Indonesia.

Juergen Freund / Red whip corals / sea whips (Ellisella sp) West New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

Juergen Freund / Red whip corals / sea whips (Ellisella sp) bending in the current, Kimbe Bay, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

Juergen Freund / Red whip corals / sea whips (Ellisella sp) Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, Indo-pacific.

Sue Daly / Sea fan coral (Ctenocella sp) Cebu, Philippines, March

Juergen Freund / Red whip corals / sea whips (Ellisella sp) and various sponges on coral reef, Indo-pacific

Juergen Freund / Whip corals / Sea whips (Ellisella sp) and featherstars (Crinoidea), on coral reef, Indo-pacific

Juergen Freund / Red whip corals / sea whips (Ellisella sp) and various sponges on coral reef, Indo-pacific

Jurgen Freund / Whip corals (Ellisella sp), with diver in the background. Rowley Shoals, Western Australia

GEORGETTE DOUWMA / Yellow seawhip coral {Stichopathes} Sulawesi, Indonesia Bunaken

Juergen Freund / Whip coral and diver (Stichopathes) Indo-Pacific

Juergen Freund / Whip coral {Ellisella sp} with feather stars, Indo Pacific

Roberto Rinaldi / Coral reef with long sea whips (Ellisella elongata) in the foreground and the silhouette of a diver in the background, Roatan, Honduras. Model released.

Roberto Rinaldi / Spiral whip / wire coral (Stichophates sp) and diver, Philippines. Model released.

Franco Banfi / Red sea whip coral (Ellisella grandis) on coral reef, Tubbataha Natural Park, Cagayancillo, Palawan, Philippines, Sulu Sea.

Alex Mustard / Twotone wrasse (Halichoeres prosopeion) juvenile, swimming in front of a Sea whip (Ellisella sp.), Raja Ampat, West Papua, Ceram Sea, Pacific Ocean.

Alex Mustard / Red sea whip (Ellisella sp.) on a coral reef, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Ceram Sea, Pacific Ocean.

Alex Mustard / Red sea whip coral (Ellisella sp.) growing on a coral reef, Tubbataha Atolls, Palawan, Philippines, Sulu Sea.

Alex Mustard / Whip goby (Bryaninops amplus) resting on a Sea whip (Ctenocella sp.), Bitung, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Molucca Sea.

Alex Mustard / Whip coral goby (Bryaninops sp.) hiding in the red branches of a sea whip (Ellisella sp.) on a coral reef. Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram Sea. Tropical West Pacific Ocean.

Alex Mustard / A reef scene with an orange elephant ear sponge (Ianthella basta) and red sea whip (Ellisella sp) with schooling silversides fish above. Pelee Island, Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram...

Shane Gross / Coral reef scene with red sea whips (Ellisella sp) and a scuba diver in the background. Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea.