The discovery of a small population of the black coral Antipathes dichotoma in the deep waters off the Calabrian coast (South Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea) is reported. The specimens have been photographed and a piece of colony has been collected with the aid of an ROV during an oceanographic cruise on board of the R/V Astrea of ICRAM, within the project Monitoring of the Calabrian Marine Biodiversity (MoBioMarCal). This finding completes the systematic picture of the oldest-described antipatharian species, giving an account of the living colonies and polyps, their cnidome and the habitat of the species, characterised by a rich and diverse coral community.
Coral assemblages off the Calabrian Coast (South Italy) with new observations on living colonies of Antipathes dichotoma
BO, MARZIA;BAVESTRELLO, GIORGIO;
2011-01-01
Abstract
The discovery of a small population of the black coral Antipathes dichotoma in the deep waters off the Calabrian coast (South Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea) is reported. The specimens have been photographed and a piece of colony has been collected with the aid of an ROV during an oceanographic cruise on board of the R/V Astrea of ICRAM, within the project Monitoring of the Calabrian Marine Biodiversity (MoBioMarCal). This finding completes the systematic picture of the oldest-described antipatharian species, giving an account of the living colonies and polyps, their cnidome and the habitat of the species, characterised by a rich and diverse coral community.
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