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Swiftia phaeton is found only in the upper bathyal off Mauritania in deep-water canyons and on deep-water coral mounds, where it lives in association with scaffolding species such as Desmophyllum pertusum (Linnaeus, 1758) at the world's largest known deep-water coral mound barrier
Findings made here: Tanoûdêrt, Nouamghar, Inchiri and Tioulit canyons and the coral mound complexes, both shallow and deep Timiris, Banda, Tamxat and Tiguent.
In addition, the coral has been found on dead coral skeletons, coral rubble and rocks. Where its occurrence ranges from isolated to very dense populations forming monospecific or multispecific coral gardens with other Plexauridae species
Swiftia phaeton is a dark red, robust colony with a dark brown axis.
The coral forms only sparse branching, rarely with anastomoses.
Polyp color is also red, but darker than the coenenchyma.
Polyps form a conical, conspicuous mound, numerous and crowded around branches.
The color of the holding sclerites varies from dark red to transparent.
The species was named after the German cruise MSM 16/3 "PHAETON" and treated as an additional name. This cruise was the first in which this species was filmed alive underwater forming coral gardens. These ecosystems contrast with the African desert into which Phaeton, son of a Greek god, transformed the continent by burning it down while falling from the sky in his chariot.
Sampaio I, Beuck L, Freiwald A (2022)
A new octocoral species of Swiftia (Holaxonia, Plexauridae) from the upper bathyal off Mauritania (NE Atlantic).
ZooKeys 1106: 121-140. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1106.81364
Findings made here: Tanoûdêrt, Nouamghar, Inchiri and Tioulit canyons and the coral mound complexes, both shallow and deep Timiris, Banda, Tamxat and Tiguent.
In addition, the coral has been found on dead coral skeletons, coral rubble and rocks. Where its occurrence ranges from isolated to very dense populations forming monospecific or multispecific coral gardens with other Plexauridae species
Swiftia phaeton is a dark red, robust colony with a dark brown axis.
The coral forms only sparse branching, rarely with anastomoses.
Polyp color is also red, but darker than the coenenchyma.
Polyps form a conical, conspicuous mound, numerous and crowded around branches.
The color of the holding sclerites varies from dark red to transparent.
The species was named after the German cruise MSM 16/3 "PHAETON" and treated as an additional name. This cruise was the first in which this species was filmed alive underwater forming coral gardens. These ecosystems contrast with the African desert into which Phaeton, son of a Greek god, transformed the continent by burning it down while falling from the sky in his chariot.
Sampaio I, Beuck L, Freiwald A (2022)
A new octocoral species of Swiftia (Holaxonia, Plexauridae) from the upper bathyal off Mauritania (NE Atlantic).
ZooKeys 1106: 121-140. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1106.81364
