A scientific research mission has discovered one of the largest pristine coral reefs in the world, according to UNESCO. Situated in the middle of the Pacific, off Tahiti, the reef is two miles long and between 30 and 70 yards…
Surprising Growth Rates Found In Deep Water Leptoseris Coral
New research published in the journal Coral Reefs revealed unexpectedly high growth rates for deep water photosynthetic coral. The study measured growth rates of deep water Leptoseris corals in Hawaii and found growth rates between 1in – 0.3in or (25mm – 7.5mm)…
New ocean zone added to coral “Twilight Zone”
Mesophotic, meet your new neighbor rariphotic. The deep sea Twilight Zone of coral reefs and some insanely beautiful fish has another zone names the rariphotic zone thanks to the Smithsonian Institute’s marine science team that has been studying these depths.…
Aquabotix Endura ROV Is Ready For The Twilight Zone
Aquabotix Endura The Aquabotix Endura is a miniature remote operated vehicle (ROV) engineered for customization. The standard ROV come equipped with two ultrabright 2200 lumen lights, and upgrades for accesories, cameras and depth rating allowing a maximum dive depth of 300m…
Brian Greene, Richard Pyle and Sonia Rowley teases with a surfeit of undescribed species from Pohnpei
To the uninitiated, the mesophotic coral reefs would seem like an unlikely place to find vibrant fish life. Antonymous to the ebullient habitat of shallow water coral gardens, the mesophotic zone is a gloomy contrast of seemingly endless dread and forlorn landscapes. Except not…
Photosynthetic Leptoseris coral found living deeper than 400 feet!!!
Leptoseris is a unique genus of stony corals that is just beginning to enjoy a following by reef aquarists. A team of researchers recently discovered some colonies of Leptoseris on the Great Barrier Reef of Australia growing at depths of…
Researchers try to understand how fields of Leptoseris can grow at 300 feet deep
We absolutely love all corals in the family Agariciidae which includes Leptoseris, Gardinoseris, Pavona, Agaricia and Psammocora. These corals are hardy, colorful, undemanding in terms of light and flow and they have really neat color and pattern which is unique…
Richard Pyle talks about exploring the reef’s Twilight Zone
Richard Pyle is the pre-eminent fish nerd, deep diver extraordinaire. In this illuminating video Dr. Pyle talks about what it’s like to do really deep dive and the focus it takes to cacth elusive fish at those depths. Richard’s main…
