Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL), Hawaii, USA
Info
The deep-water gorgonian Calyptrophora wyvillei is known from only two pacific zones to date, the Northern Hawaiiian Islands and around the Kermedec Islands, which are part of New Zealand.
Northern Hawaiiian Islands sites include Twin Banks, Gardiner Pinnacles, Cross Seamount, Oahu Island, Pioneer Bank, French Frigate Shoals, and Necker Island, East of Island Seamount.
Here the coral occurs in depth range of 929 -1018 meters.
Around the Kermedec Islands, which belong to New Zealand, the coral lives down to a depth of almost 1300 meters.
It is believed that this gorgonian is even more widespread in the West Pacific and South Pacific than previously known.
In larger specimens, it is common for it to harbor one or more specimens of a large brittle star (Asteroschema edmondsoni) with a disc diameter up to 1 cm.
The brittle stars blend with the color of the octocoral. they also do not cause deformation of the colony as many commensals do, they only create a slight change in the outer surface of the gorgonian.
Northern Hawaiiian Islands sites include Twin Banks, Gardiner Pinnacles, Cross Seamount, Oahu Island, Pioneer Bank, French Frigate Shoals, and Necker Island, East of Island Seamount.
Here the coral occurs in depth range of 929 -1018 meters.
Around the Kermedec Islands, which belong to New Zealand, the coral lives down to a depth of almost 1300 meters.
It is believed that this gorgonian is even more widespread in the West Pacific and South Pacific than previously known.
In larger specimens, it is common for it to harbor one or more specimens of a large brittle star (Asteroschema edmondsoni) with a disc diameter up to 1 cm.
The brittle stars blend with the color of the octocoral. they also do not cause deformation of the colony as many commensals do, they only create a slight change in the outer surface of the gorgonian.
