Black corals (
Antipatharia) are a group of deep water, tree-like
coralCorals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone-like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals...
s related to
sea anemoneSea anemones are a group of water dwelling, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria; they are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flower...
s which normally occur in the
tropicsThe tropics,the tropics are very hot. hi everyone! peace out!seated in the equatorial regions of the world, are limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' N latitude and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at 23°26' S latitude...
although they are also found in shallow water non-tropical areas such as
Milford SoundMilford Sound is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey, and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination...
in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
where they can be seen in an underwater observatory. There are about 230 known species of Antipatharians in 42 genera.
Though black coral's living tissue is brilliantly colored, it takes its name from the distinctive black or dark brown color of its skeleton.
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Black corals (
Antipatharia) are a group of deep water, tree-like
coralCorals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone-like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals...
s related to
sea anemoneSea anemones are a group of water dwelling, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria; they are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flower...
s which normally occur in the
tropicsThe tropics,the tropics are very hot. hi everyone! peace out!seated in the equatorial regions of the world, are limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' N latitude and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at 23°26' S latitude...
although they are also found in shallow water non-tropical areas such as
Milford SoundMilford Sound is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey, and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination...
in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
where they can be seen in an underwater observatory. There are about 230 known species of Antipatharians in 42 genera.
Though black coral's living tissue is brilliantly colored, it takes its name from the distinctive black or dark brown color of its skeleton. Also unique to black coral are the tiny spines that cover the surface of the skeleton, the origin of the nickname
little thorn coral. In the
Hawaiian languageThe Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
, black coral is called
‘ēkaha kū moana and is the official state gem of
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states, and is the only state made up entirely of islands. It is located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August...
. Black coral is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Lifespan
In March 2009, scientists released the results of their research on deep-sea (depths of ~300 to 3,000 m) corals throughout the world. They discovered a subdivision of Black Coral,
A. Leiopathes sp. specimens, to be among the oldest continuously living organisms on the planet; around 4,265 years old. They show that the "radial growth rates are as low as 4 to 35 mkm year
(-1) and that individual colony longevities are on the order of thousands of years".
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