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Fig. 3 | BMC Evolutionary Biology

Fig. 3

From: Merging scleractinian genera: the overwhelming genetic similarity between solitary Desmophyllum and colonial Lophelia

Fig. 3

Micromorphology (thecal granulations) and microstructure of Desmophyllum DdSML 188, a–e and Lophelia MEDCOR 09, f–i. Thecal granulations in both taxa are very similar: granules are typically denser and more rounded (hemispherical) in proximal portions of specimens (d) whereas more dispersed and spinose in distal portions (a, e). Microstructural organization of septa of both taxa as viewed in transverse thin sections (c, h) and polished and etched sections (d, i): the so called "mid-septal zone" consists of densely packed Rapid Accretion Deposits, RADs (red arrows) with Thickening Deposits, TD (blue arrows) radiating outward from the RADs. TD in the illustrated Desmophyllum form well organized, large bundles of fibers, whereas in Lophelia, few zones separated by clear crystal boundaries are recognizable. Yellow arrows (c, h) mark complete light extinction of the fiber bundles in polarized light, indicating similar arrangement of axes of individual crystallographic domains

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