Erythropodium caribaeorum

Erythropodium caribaeorum
Erythropodium caribaeorum in the Aquarium de La Rochelle
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Subphylum: Anthozoa
Class: Octocorallia
Order: Scleralcyonacea
Family: Erythropodiidae
Genus: Erythropodium
Species:
E. caribaeorum
Binomial name
Erythropodium caribaeorum
(Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860)[1]
Synonyms
  • Erythropodium carybaeorum Kölliker, 1865

Erythropodium caribaeorum, commonly known as the encrusting gorgonian or encrusting polyps, is a species of soft coral in the monotypic family Erythropodiidae.[1] It was formerly placed in subfamily Erythropodiinae of family Anthothelidae.[2]

The species inhabits coral reefs and rocky bottoms in the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Florida, growing at depths of 0.5 to 25 metres.[3]

E. caribaeorum is of interest from a drug discovery perspective because it produces eleutherobin, a diterpene glycoside with potential anticancer activity.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b World List of Octocorallia. McFadden, C.S.; Cordeiro, R.; Samimi-Namin, K.; Williams, G.; van Ofwegen, L. (eds.). "Erythropodium caribaeorum (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  2. ^ McFadden, Catherine S.; Van Ofwegen, Leen P.; Quattrini, Andrea M. (2022). "Revisionary systematics of Octocorallia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) guided by phylogenomics". Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists. 1 (3). doi:10.18061/bssb.v1i3.8735.
  3. ^ "Erythropodium caribaeorum". SeaLifeBase. 2012. Retrieved 2 Feb 2016.
  4. ^ Singh R, Sharma M, Joshi P, Rawat DS (2008). "Clinical status of anti-cancer agents derived from marine sources". Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 8 (6): 603–617. doi:10.2174/187152008785133074. PMID 18690825.