Zootaxa
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Paracalyptrophora hawaiiensis is a deep-sea gorgonian, which so far is only known from a few sites, which were discovered in the course of scientific investigations with the help of so-called ROVs.
Typical habitats are hard surfaces of so-called seamounts.
In the cold and dark water zones, where photosynthesis is no longer possible, all corals had to develop strategies to secure the vital energy, in this case, to catch.
The dense, bushy branchings are perfect for holding living zooplanton, or grabbing sinking marine snow.
Paracalyptrophora hawaiiensis is a deep-sea gorgonian known so far only from a few sites discovered during scientific investigations using so-called ROVs.
Typical habitats are hard surfaces of so-called seamounts.
In the cold and dark water zones, where photosynthesis is no longer possible, all corals had to develop strategies to secure the vital energy, in this case, to catch.
The dense, bushy branchings are perfect for holding onto living zooplanton, or capturing sinking marine snow.
Previous research has shown that the colonies grow wider than they are tall.
We sincerely thank the Hawaiiʻi Undersea Research Lab (HURL) for permission to use any photos we requested.
The pictured colony also harbored several crinoids and an orange-striped galatheid crab that matches the color of the colony.
These detections partially fill a gap between the two previously known occurrences of the species from Hawaiii and Lord Howe Rise, and suggest that it may be a widespread species in the Southwest Pacific.
We sincerely thank the Hawaiiʻi Undersea Research Lab (HURL) for permission to use any photos we requested.
Similar species: Paracalyptrophora echinataCairns, 2009
Synonyms: Paracalyptrophora hawaiinensis Cairns, 2009
Typical habitats are hard surfaces of so-called seamounts.
In the cold and dark water zones, where photosynthesis is no longer possible, all corals had to develop strategies to secure the vital energy, in this case, to catch.
The dense, bushy branchings are perfect for holding living zooplanton, or grabbing sinking marine snow.
Paracalyptrophora hawaiiensis is a deep-sea gorgonian known so far only from a few sites discovered during scientific investigations using so-called ROVs.
Typical habitats are hard surfaces of so-called seamounts.
In the cold and dark water zones, where photosynthesis is no longer possible, all corals had to develop strategies to secure the vital energy, in this case, to catch.
The dense, bushy branchings are perfect for holding onto living zooplanton, or capturing sinking marine snow.
Previous research has shown that the colonies grow wider than they are tall.
We sincerely thank the Hawaiiʻi Undersea Research Lab (HURL) for permission to use any photos we requested.
The pictured colony also harbored several crinoids and an orange-striped galatheid crab that matches the color of the colony.
These detections partially fill a gap between the two previously known occurrences of the species from Hawaiii and Lord Howe Rise, and suggest that it may be a widespread species in the Southwest Pacific.
We sincerely thank the Hawaiiʻi Undersea Research Lab (HURL) for permission to use any photos we requested.
Similar species: Paracalyptrophora echinataCairns, 2009
Synonyms: Paracalyptrophora hawaiinensis Cairns, 2009
