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June 1, 2021: Squat Lobster and Coral
While exploring the northeast side of Pao Pao Seamount during the Discovering the Deep: Exploring Remote Pacific Marine Protected Areas expedition, we saw this squat lobster hanging upside down from the branches of what, despite its white color, is actually a black coral in the family Schizopathidae. The common name “black coral” refers to the blackish color of the coral skeleton, not the color of the living coral polyps.
Credit

Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Discovering the Deep: Exploring Remote Pacific MPAs.