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.

Depth range
90- 132 m

Mesophotic “mentions”
0 x (total of 5385 words)

Classification
* Presents original data
* Focused on 'mesophotic' depth range
* Focused on 'temperate mesophotic ecosystem'

Fields
Biodiversity
Taxonomy

Focusgroups
Antipatharia (Black Corals)

Locations
Italy - Ligurian-Tyrrhenian

Platforms
Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)