
A view of the tip of a branch of a bamboo coral showing a dozen or so polyps. This being an octocoral, the polyps have the characteristic eight pinnate (feather-like) tentacles surrounding the mouth (the red dot seen in the center of some of the polyps). This image was taken on Explorer Ridge during the 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas expedition, at 2,588 meters (8,490 feet) depth.