A large black sponge with sea urchin spines and yellow encrustation in foreground.

Coral (Montastrea cavernosa).

Coral (Montastrea cavernosa).

Coral (Montastrea cavernosa) with spotfin hogfish , creole , reef butterfly fish and an assortment of smaller fish.

A coney (Cephalopholis fulvus) partially hidden with purple sponge to the left.

Coral capping the top of MacGrail Bank.

Rope sponge in center, elephant ear sponge to right.

Scrawled cowfish ( Acanthostracion quadricornis).

A school of creole-fish (Paranthias furcifer) cruise over MacGrail Bank.

Crinoid.

Crinoid.

Crinoid and fish.

Crinoids, hydroids, and whip coral.

Cubbyu (Pareques umbrosus) under ledge.

Gold-faced puffer.

A white gorgonian.

Numerous types of algae visible in this image. Although over 50 meters deep, the light penetrates through the very clear water in this area of the Gulf of Mexico .

A hydroid, which although an animal, appears like a plant-like bush.

A hydroid and rhodophyta algae.

A hypnogorgia octocoral.

A beautiful landscape.

Octorals and a crinoid in the foreground.

Whip corals and reef fish.

Numerous soft corals and reef fish.

A large moray eel.

Peterson's cleaner shrimp on a large sponge with colonial tubeworms.

Phaeophyta algae.

Pseudoceratina crassa tube sponge.

Pseudoceratina crassa tube sponge.

A closer view of Peterson's shrimp with colonial tubeworms.

Several species of red algae grow on rhodoliths at about 75 m depth (225 ft) Notable species include Halymenia, composed of large, flat blades (large pink seaweed in center); Gracilaria blodgettii, a cylindrical species in right foreground; Kallyemia westii, a pale pink species with perforated blades in extreme left center foreground.

Rhodophyta algae with large brown and white sea cucumber.

A rough-tail ray "flying" above the bottom.

Stern view of a saddle bass.

Sand tilefish.

A scamp.

A seapen waving in the current.

A searobin.

A searobin with fins extended in order to look more formidable.

A brownish-orange seastar.

A large orange many-legged seastar.

A purple spiny urchin, Arbacia punctulata .

A squirrelfish.

Squirrelfish and algae, particularly Codium repens.

A red gorgonian.

Closeup of a red gorgonian with polyps extended.

A triggerfish.

Triggerfish.

A tube anemone.

Unidentified algae residing on Clypeaster sp. sea urchin.