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The colony from which the black coral holotype, Aphanipathes puertoricoensis, was obtained was filmed in situ, and based on a screenshot from this video, the entire colony is estimated to be over 1 m tall and over 2 m wide, including branches.
The main stem is estimated to be 0.2 m tall and consists of about eight irregular rows of primary branches spaced about 2 cm apart per row.
Primary branches are long and loosely coiled at the distal end, reaching lengths of over 1 m. Secondary branches are sparse and third-order branches are rare.
In the depth of 357 meters a symbiosis with zooxanthellae is impossible, because the zooxanthellae need sunlight for photosynthesis, but in these depths no daylight penetrates.
For the aforementioned reason, the black coral must have set up to catch suitably sized plankton in order to gain its life energy.
The exact type of plankton the coral catches and consumes will probably remain its secret.
Etymology
The species name "puertoricoensis" is based on the type locality Guayanilla Canyon, Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea.
Literature reference:
Horowitz J, Opresko DM, González-García MP, Quattrini AM (2023)
Description of a new species of black coral in the family Aphanipathidae (Anthozoa, Antipatharia) from Puerto Rico.
ZooKeys 1173: 97-110. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1173.104141
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC0 Public Domain Dedication.
The main stem is estimated to be 0.2 m tall and consists of about eight irregular rows of primary branches spaced about 2 cm apart per row.
Primary branches are long and loosely coiled at the distal end, reaching lengths of over 1 m. Secondary branches are sparse and third-order branches are rare.
In the depth of 357 meters a symbiosis with zooxanthellae is impossible, because the zooxanthellae need sunlight for photosynthesis, but in these depths no daylight penetrates.
For the aforementioned reason, the black coral must have set up to catch suitably sized plankton in order to gain its life energy.
The exact type of plankton the coral catches and consumes will probably remain its secret.
Etymology
The species name "puertoricoensis" is based on the type locality Guayanilla Canyon, Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea.
Literature reference:
Horowitz J, Opresko DM, González-García MP, Quattrini AM (2023)
Description of a new species of black coral in the family Aphanipathidae (Anthozoa, Antipatharia) from Puerto Rico.
ZooKeys 1173: 97-110. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1173.104141
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC0 Public Domain Dedication.
