Large orange antipatharia whip coral (black coral)

Large antipatharia coral bush with white polyps

Large antipatharia coral bush with white polyps and large white squat lobster.

Large antipatharia coral bush with white polyps and large white squat lobster.

Base of antipatharia coral bush (black coral)

Beautiful white polyps on antipatharia coral bush (black coral)

Beautiful white polyps on antipatharia coral bush (black coral); hydroid below left side of coral bush; yellow crinoid in bottom right.

Beautiful white polyps on antipatharia coral bush (black coral)

Beautiful white polyps on antipatharia coral bush (black coral); note zooanthids colonizing dead branch to left. A Leiopathes black coral colony at 425 meters depth on the West Florida escarpment. Red lasers are visible on the branches and polyps near the middle of the screen, 10 centimeters apart. Based on published growth rates, this black coral could be between 400 and 1000 years old.

Beautiful white polyps on antipatharia coral bush; hydroid in bottom center, and white zooanthids

Black coral bush with white polyps and colonized by small white zoanthids on large branch above crack.

Base of a black coral bush with many small life forms both on the base and in the near vicinity.

White polyps on an antipatharia coral bush (black coral).

The base of an antipatharia coral (black coral)

A large antipatharia coral (black coral) with white polyps on a rock and sand substrate.

White polyps on an antipatharia coral (black coral), a blue sponge, yellow sponge, and possibly a large red sponge behind coral bush.

Pink antipatharia polyps (black coral) extended on a dense coral bush.

Orange antipatharia whip coral with smaller white bamboo corals. A white ruffle sponge is on rock outcrop to right.

Orange antipatharia whip coral with smaller white bamboo corals. Bamboo corals have large white starfish and a number of yellow crinoid feather stars in branches.

Polyps of orange antipatharia whip coral

Orange antipatharia whip coral in left foreground with white bamboo octocoral behind with large white starfish

Yellow antipatharia whip coral

Yellow antipatharia whip coral

Yellow antipatharia whip coral

An orange antipatharia coral (black coral)

Polyps of antipatharia coral

An orange antipatharia coral (black coral)

Antipatharia (commonly called "black" coral) coral

Antipatharia (commonly called "black" coral) coral

Antipatharia (commonly called "black" coral) coral

Antipatharia (commonly called "black" coral) coral

Purple octocoral bush with red and white shrimp. Bright red dots are from laser beams ten centimeters apart.

Purple octocoral bush with red and white shrimp.

Small purple coral bush with polyps retracted.

Purple octocoral bush with red and white shrimp.

Beautiful purple and yellow octocoral bush with white polyps extended.

Octocoral polyps with red shrimp.

Beautiful purple and yellow octocoral bush. White squat lobster can be seen in lower right.

White octocoral polyps with two shrimp visible and arms of brittle star at bottom of image.

Polyps extended on octocoral with red shrimp in branches. Also arms of a brittle star are seen in right background.

Purple and white octocoral with polyps extended. Note shrimp in center of photo .

A large red crab in the foreground with gorgonians in the background. A marker indicates this is a site designated for repeated observation.

A delicate octocoral with a red shrimp.

Chrysogorgia coral with some shrimp and a herd of squat lobsters at its base.

Chrysogorgia coral on a rock outcrop.

Chrysogorgia coral with squat lobster

Chrysogorgia coral with squat lobster

Chrysogorgia coral with squat lobster and some amphipods

Squat lobster in chrysogorgia coral

Chrysogorgia coral with squat lobster