The octocoral, or gorgonian Leptogorgia virgulata , is a temperate, colonial cnidarian, commonly found in the subtidal coastal waters of the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States. Octocorals are passive suspension feeders that obtain food from flowing water. Although many species of gorgonians harbor zooxanthellae, a dinoflagellate symbiont, L. virgulata does not. The polyps of L. virgulata are composed of an outer epidermis and inner gastrodermis. The polyps are connected by a mass of tissue called the coenenchyme which consists of a collagenous mesoglea.
Gastrodermal tubes extend from the polyps into the mesoglea of the coenenchyme.
The axis is enclosed by desmocytes and corticocytes. My research students and I have conducted studies on this animal for several years using electron and flourescence microscopy, immunocytochemistry, and molecular techniques.