alcyon
alcyon — 名詞
1. a small marine animal with a soft, leathery outer surface that lives in colonies
軟珊瑚
海洋中群體生活的軟體珊瑚
a small marine animal with a soft, leathery outer surface that lives in colonies attached to rocks or the sea floor, belonging to the genus Alcyonium or related groups
Lucía collected samples of alcyons for her marine biology class in Bali.
Lucía 為了她在峇里島的海洋生物學課程收集了軟珊瑚樣本。
countable noun, used with quantifier 'samples of'
The tide pool was full of alcyons, their soft bodies moving in the water.
潮池裡充滿了軟珊瑚，牠們柔軟的身體在水中擺動。
plural form describing a group in a natural habitat
Divers near the reef spotted purple alcyons growing on an old shipwreck.
暗礁附近的潛水者在一艘舊沉船上發現了生長的紫色軟珊瑚群。
Min examined a colony of alcyons under a microscope in the lab.
Min 在實驗室用顯微鏡檢查了一個軟珊瑚群體。
One alcyon looks like a small mushroom; a group forms a soft mat on rock.
一朵軟珊瑚看起來像小蘑菇，但一群軟珊瑚會在岩石上形成一層柔軟的墊狀物。
用法筆記
Often used in the plural form (alcyons) when referring to individual animals or a collection. In scientific texts, the singular refers to one specimen or to the genus as a concept.