Deep Sea Coral

Deep-water coral

The habitat of deep-water corals, also known as cold-water corals, extends to deeper, darker parts of the oceans than tropical corals, ranging from near the surface to the abyss, beyond 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) where water temperatures may be as cold as 4 °C (39 °F). Deep-water corals belong to the Phylum Cnidaria and are most often stony corals, but also include black and thorny corals and soft corals including the Gorgonians. Like tropical corals, they provide habitat to other species, but deep-water corals do not require zooxanthellae to survive.

Deep sea

The deep sea is broadly defined as the ocean depth where light begins to fade, at an approximate depth of 200 m (660 ft) or the point of transition from continental shelves to continental slopes. Conditions within the deep sea are a combination of low temperatures, darkness, and high pressure. The deep sea is considered the least explored Earth biome as the extreme conditions make the environment difficult to access and explore.

Sea

A sea is a very large body of salty water. The term has two distinct meanings. The first is the interconnected body of seawater that spans most of Earth, known as the sea or the ocean. The second is a named body of water: usually either a marginal sea, or a large, nearly landlocked body of water.

Coral

Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.

deep

Adjective

1. Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

Adverb

1. Far, especially far down through something or into something, physically or figuratively.
2. In a profound, not superficial, manner.

sea

Symbol

1. ISO 639-3 language code for Semai.

Noun

1. A large body of salt water.
2. The ocean; the continuous body of salt water covering a majority of the Earth's surface.

coral

Noun

1. Any of many species of marine invertebrates in the class Anthozoa, most of which build hard calcium carbonate skeletons and form colonies, or a colony belonging to one of those species.
2. A hard substance made of the skeletons of these organisms.

Adjective

1. Made of coral.
2. Having the orange-pink color of coral.