Two large octocoral sea fan colonies grow off the side of a rocky feature at 391 meters off the southwest tip of Ni’ihau. The colony on the left is a bamboo coral (genus Isidella) and on the right is a primnoid (genus Calyptrophora). The red dots of the remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer's lasers are visible near the center of the bamboo coral colony. The lasers are 10 centimeters apart and are used for estimating sizes. This colony is greater than 120 centimeters wide and at least 60 centimeters tall.
Sea Fan Colonies
Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2015 Hohonu Moana. Download larger version (jpg, 1.1 MB).

Two large octocoral sea fan colonies grow off the side of a rocky feature at 391 meters off the southwest tip of Ni’ihau. The colony on the left is a bamboo coral (genus Isidella) and on the right is a primnoid (genus Calyptrophora). The red dots of the remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer's lasers are visible near the center of the bamboo coral colony. The lasers are 10 centimeters apart and are used for estimating sizes. This colony is greater than 120 centimeters wide and at least 60 centimeters tall.

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