The ROV manipulator grips a Dragmacidon sp. sponge sample for taxonomic identification, collected in the lower mesophotic zone (120 meters depth).
Gorgonians
Image courtesy of Cuba’s Twilight Zone Reefs and Their Regional Connectivity. Download larger version (jpg, 457 KB).

Gorgonians such as Swiftia sp. (orange sea fan) and Ellisella barbadensis (orange sea whip), and black corals such as Stichopathes sp. (spiral whip) are common along the steep walls of the lower mesophotic zone (125 to 75 meters depths).

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