Close-up of soft coral with pinkish-purple polyps and surrounding brittle stars on a sandy ocean floor.
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Purple Soft Corals
The summit of the seamount explored during Dive 11 of the Papahānaumokuākea ROV and Mapping expedition was carpeted with small, unidentified purple soft corals (family Nidaliidae) This image, taken at a depth of 414 meters (1,358 feet), shows a close up of one of these corals. A sample of the coral was collected for further analysis.
Credit

NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2025 Beyond the Blue