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Alternatipathes venusta is a deep-sea coral protected by the Cites Convention (Cites II), currently known only from the Hawaiian Islands and Gorda Ridge, in the eastern Pacific off California, west coast of the USA.
On a research cruise with the R/V Okeanos Explorer, a research vessel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the coral was discovered, collected and later described with the help of the ROV Deep Discoverer.
Alternatipathes venusta is a monopodial colony with a long unfeathered stalk and two lateral, feathered sections.
The length of the pinnules generally decreases from proximal (> 13 cm) to distal (~ 3 cm) in a colony with a 17 cm long pinnate section.
In the deep sea, the black coral relies on the capture of plankton, marine snow and other organic compounds, such as suspensions, to sustain its life energy.
The NOAA photo shows the coral, the sides of which have formed a kind of "plankton net" in the current.
Similar species: Alternatipathes alternata (Brook, 1889)
Etymology. From the Latin "venusta", meaning "beautiful".
Literature reference:
Opresko, Dennis M. & Wagner, Daniel, 2020
New species of black corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Antipatharia) from deep-sea seamounts and ridges in the North Pacific,
Zootaxa 4868 (4), pp. 543-559 : 550-553, https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4868.4.5
On a research cruise with the R/V Okeanos Explorer, a research vessel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the coral was discovered, collected and later described with the help of the ROV Deep Discoverer.
Alternatipathes venusta is a monopodial colony with a long unfeathered stalk and two lateral, feathered sections.
The length of the pinnules generally decreases from proximal (> 13 cm) to distal (~ 3 cm) in a colony with a 17 cm long pinnate section.
In the deep sea, the black coral relies on the capture of plankton, marine snow and other organic compounds, such as suspensions, to sustain its life energy.
The NOAA photo shows the coral, the sides of which have formed a kind of "plankton net" in the current.
Similar species: Alternatipathes alternata (Brook, 1889)
Etymology. From the Latin "venusta", meaning "beautiful".
Literature reference:
Opresko, Dennis M. & Wagner, Daniel, 2020
New species of black corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Antipatharia) from deep-sea seamounts and ridges in the North Pacific,
Zootaxa 4868 (4), pp. 543-559 : 550-553, https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4868.4.5
