Marine Institute
SeaRover Dive Video

D551 Transect PB08 Mosaic sediment with mud and carbonate bedrock with several epifauna species including soft corals and xenophyophores. Priority. Features: Ridge, Wall. Water depth: -2150 m. TL: 2.1 km SOL: 15° 11.813' W 52° 44.142' N

Highlights: White sea cucumber Yellow sponge & stylasterid coral Antipatharian coral Pteropod hash? Antipatharian coral Hexactinellid sponge Hexactinellid sponge - Hyalonema

Soft sediment over much of the dive with areas of complex burrows and barnacle hash. Echinouthuridae spp. and Phormosoma placenta urchins are numerous at the beginning of the dive. Sea pens and xenophyophores throughout the dive, the latter become more numerous as the ROV ascended upslope. Rock outcrops have encrusting and glass sponges. Towards the end of the dive a variety of corals are seen including Acanella sp., Bathypathes sp., Paramuricea sp. and Leiopathes sp..

START VIDEO [00:00:00]/00:30. [1] Muddy sediment on flat/gentle slope with occasional boulders. Sparse epifauna. [00:00:00]-[00:10:00] ROV stops for sampling two pushcores. [00:10:00] ROV leaves the seafloor. [00:12:00] [2] Mud/pebbles/cobbles/boulders with Geodia cf. barretti living on boulders. [00:13:00] [3] Now muddy sediment with frequent Echinoidea sp.5 (Echinothuroidea) and Hygrosoma sp. [00:17:00] Carbonate boulder with inlets. [00:32:00] ROV stops for imagery of pteropod hash (?). [00:41:00] vision obscured/mud cloud. [00:51:00] ROV stops for imagery of Syringammina fragilissima OTU261. [01:09:00] ROV stops for imagery of muddy sediment and sponge. [01:14:00] ROV stops for imagery of Actinopterygii sp. [01:20:00] [4] here cobbles/broken carbonate/mud with sparse epifauna, including Leiopathes sp. OTU305 and Telopathes sp.2 OTU1181. [01:23:00] ROV goes up hill. [5] Here predominantly carbonate mound/carbonate bedrock with sparse epifauna, including antipathes. [01:25:00] [6] boulders/mud down slope hosts sparse epifauna including Acanella arbuscula and Syringammina fragilissima. [01:26:00] Blue water for a few seconds. [01:29:00] Fields of S. fragilissima. [01:31:00] Mud cloud. [01:40:00] Mud cloud. [01:48:00] [7] Here Mud slope. Acanella arbuscula dominates. [01:50:00] mud cloud. [01:51:00] Vision clear again. END VIDEO [01:59:00]/00:29.

Progression Start Duration Code Name
1[00:00:00]00:12:10M.AtUA.MuAtlantic upper abyssal mud
2[00:12:11]00:01:31M.AtUA.RoAtlantic upper abyssal rock and other hard substrata
3[00:13:43]01:13:20M.AtUA.MuAtlantic upper abyssal mud
4[01:27:04]00:03:38M.AtUA.RoAtlantic upper abyssal rock and other hard substrata
5[01:30:43]00:02:01M.AtUA.RoAtlantic upper abyssal rock and other hard substrata
6[01:32:45]00:24:30M.AtUA.RoAtlantic upper abyssal rock and other hard substrata

Foraminifera
Syringammina fragilissima : 261 : O
Porifera
Pheronema carpenteri : 347 : R
Euplectella suberea : 1198 : R
cf. Phakellia ventilabrum : 202 : R
cf. Geodia baretti (Porifera massive globose sp. 11) : 601 : R
Porifera cylindrical sp. 2 : 1075 : R
Porifera encrusting globose (pale) : 75 : R
Porifera encrusting sp. 14 : 52 : R
Porifera lamellate (bubbles) : 1156 : R
Porifera lamellate lobose : 81 : R
Porifera massive globose sp. 13 : 648 : R
Porifera massive lobose sp. 21 (Hertwigia sp. ?) : 611 : R
Blue Porifera encrusting : 800 : R
Porifera vase (cf. Aphrocallistes) : 1162 : R
Cnidaria
Cerianthidae sp. 1 : 2 : O
Actiniaria sp. 1 : 4 : R
Actiniaria sp. 18 : 582 : R
Actiniaria sp. 20 : 605 : R
Sagartidae sp. (wide oral disc) : 1118 : R
Actinostolidae sp. 1 : 132 : R
Adamsia sp. : 1066 : R
Stichopathes sp. : 560 : R
Leiopathes sp. : 305 : R
Bathypathes sp. (brown) : 284 : R
Bathypathes sp. 1 : 328 : R
Parantipathes sp. : 1042 : R

Telopathes sp. 2 (red) : 1181 : R
Caryophyllia sp. 2 : 6 : R
Flabellum sp. : 1056 : R
Anthomastus grandiflorus : 278 : R
Iridogorgia sp. : 9997 : R
Radicipes cf. gracilis : 1044 : R
Chrysogorgidae sp. 1 : 1008 : R
Acanella arbuscula : 585 : R
Lepidisis sp. : 557 : R
Paragorgia (twiggy) (poss. Swiftia) : 1065 : R
Paramuricea sp. : 1050 : R
cf. Thouarella sp. : 1086 : R
Pennatulacea sp. 3 (submerged axis) : 1191 : R
Anthoptilum sp. : 1107 : R
Kophobelemnon stelliferum : 442 : R
Pennatula aculeata : 1046 : R
Umbellula sp. : 581 : R
Rhodaliidae sp. 1 : 950 : R
Arthropoda
Galacantha sp. : 1144 : R
Paguridae sp. : 205 : R
Colossendeis sp. 1 : 1059 : R
Mollusca
Colus sp. : 113 : R
Graneledone verrucosa : 973 : R
Echinodermata
Bathycrinidae sp. 2 cf. Porphyrocrinus thalassae : 1045 : R
Democrinus sp. : 1103 : O
Crinoidea sp. 1 : 131 : R

Euryalida sp. : 1307 : R
Ophiomusa lymani : 551 : R
Ophiuroidea sp. 11 (red disc) : 1036 : R
Brisingidae sp. : 274 : R
Pseudarchaster sp. 1 : 433 : R
cf. Henricia sp. (deep) : 1154 : R
Porania sp. : 263 : R
cf. Echinus (deep pink spine) : 1129 : R
Hygrosoma sp. : 1125 : R
Phormosoma placenta : 555 : R
Echinoidea sp. 5 : 572 : O
cf. Psolus sp. : 1049 : R
cf. Amperima sp. : 628 : R
cf. Benthogone sp. (white) : 574 : R
Chordata
Hydrolagus cf. affinis : 1039 : R
Coryphaenoides armatus : 1105 : R
Coryphaenoides guentheri : 577 : R
Coryphaenoides rupestris : 566 : R
Mora moro : 349 : R
Phycis blennoides : 1020 : R
Halosauridae sp. : 1113 : R
Notacanthidae sp. 1 : 1009 : R
Notacanthiformes sp. 1 : 1012 : R
cf. Rouleina attrita : 1074 : R
Actinopterygii sp. 3 : 930 : R

Number of species = 77

© Marine Institute, MERC Consultants, Bernard Picton 2022