Quantifying complex shapes: elliptical fourier analysis of octocoral sclerites.

Species descriptions of most alcyonacean octocorals rely heavily on the morphology of sclerites, the calcium carbonate spicules embedded in the soft tissue. Sclerites provide taxonomic characters for species delineation but require qualitative descriptions, which introduce ambiguities in recognizing morphological features. Elliptical Fourier analysis of the outline of sclerites was used to quantify the morphology of eight species of gorgoniid octocoral in the genus Pseudopterogorgia.