Marine Institute
SeaRover Dive Video

D559 Transect PB19 Sub-fossil corals. Mosaic substrata with mud/gravel/cobble/bedrock. Various epifauna with mainly stalked sponges and crinoids. Priority. Features: Canyon Wall. Water Depth: -2600 m. TL: 1 km. SOL: 14° 45.732' W 50° 41.834' N

Highlights: Stalked sponges Anemone - Relicanthus Anemone Brittlestars Cobweb-like structures

Relict cup corals with web like material, possibly bacterial in origin, and ophiuroids observed on a black cliff face. Areas of cliff face free from relict cup corals had serpulid tubes, stalked crinoids, Hyalonema spp., Lepidisis sp., A. nefertiti and brisingiids. Very little coral species but occasional Bathypathes sp. and Telopathes sp. observed. Soft sediment at top of cliff contained xenophyophore field. Species of note include scale worm, Anthomastus sp. and a large number of Hyalonema sp.

VIDEO A STARTS [00:00:00]/21:13. [1] Muddy steep/vertical wall. [00:01:00] Mud cloud/vision obscured. [00:03:00] Vision reacquired. [00:08:00] Fairy rings. [00:10:00] [2] Bedrock/vertical wall colonized by predominantly stalked sponges (unknown species) and Anachalypsicrinus nefertiti OTU1031. [00:13:00] [3] Bedrock and mud mosaicked substrata on steep/vertical ground. Stalked sponges and A. nefertiti still co-dominate. [00:20:00] Fossilized corals on bedrock. [00:24:00] ROV stops for imagery of bacterial mat covering fossilized corals and Bathycrinidae sp.2 OTU284. [00:31:00] ROV stops for imagery of new type of sea anemone known as Relicanthus sp. [00:36:00] Closed-up images of sub-fossil corals intertwined with bacterial mat. [00:37:39] ROV stops for imagery of Actinernus sp. OTU449. [00:42:00] [4] Very steep bedrock covered in fossilized corals and bacterial mat. [00:47:00] [5] ROV moves forward from tall and vertical isolated boulders to muddy steep hill with scattered large boulders. Sparse epifauna on soft sediment, stalked crinoids OTU284 and OTU1031 on rock. [00:55:00] ROV moves upwards along steep bedrock. Exposed rock interspersed with mud patches. [01:00:00] Vertical rock walls with dense fossilized coral reefs. [01:26:00] Close-up shots of sub-fossil corals. [01:28:00]-[01:49:00] ROV stops for imagery and sampling of fossilized corals. [01:57:00] ROV camera tilted to water column for a few seconds. [02:03:00] [6] Steep/vertical wall. Boulder/cobble fields/coral rubble/mud mosaicked. Stalked crinoids OTU284, OTU1031 and annelid OTU106 on rock. VIDEO A ENDS 23:29.

VIDEO B STARTS [02:16:00]/23:30. The second taped video shows very similar/nearly identical features of the first tape. Therefore, steep bedrock/mud mosaicked throughout the whole transect. [7] In this transect, dense coral rubble/sub-fossil coral rubble are recorded scattered within rocks. [02:20:30] ROV stops for imagery and sampling of Serpulidae. [03:33:00] [8] Muddy sediment/gravel/pebbles mosaicked sediments. Ophiomusa lymani OTU551 and Syringammina fragilissima OTU261 co-dominate. VIDEO B ENDS [03:39:00]/00:54.

Progression Start Duration Code Name
1[00:00:00]00:10:24M.AtUA.MuAtlantic upper abyssal mud
8[00:00:00]02:15:44M.AtUA.RoAtlantic upper abyssal rock and other hard substrata
9[00:00:58]01:10:01M.AtUA.BiAtlantic upper abyssal cold water coral reef (biogenic structure)
2[00:10:25]00:03:05M.AtUA.RoAtlantic upper abyssal rock and other hard substrata
3[00:13:31]00:03:38M.AtUA.BiAtlantic upper abyssal cold water coral reef (biogenic structure)
4[00:17:10]00:01:15M.AtUA.RoAtlantic upper abyssal rock and other hard substrata
5[00:18:26]00:27:34M.AtUA.BiAtlantic upper abyssal cold water coral reef (biogenic structure)
6[00:46:01]00:09:23M.AtUA.RoAtlantic upper abyssal rock and other hard substrata
7[00:55:25]01:00:35M.AtUA.BiAtlantic upper abyssal cold water coral reef (biogenic structure)
10[01:11:00]00:12:34M.AtUA.MuAtlantic upper abyssal mud

Foraminifera
Syringammina fragilissima : 261 : R
Porifera
cf. Polymastia boletiformis : 1030 : R
Porifera encrusting sp. 1 (white) : 1 : R
Porifera encrusting sp. 15 (yellow) : 58 : R
Porifera massive globose sp. 15 (Solenosmilia rubble) : 1051 : R
Stalked Porifera : 9975 : R
Cnidaria
Actinernus michaelsarsi : 554 : R
Actinoscyphiidae sp. 1 (pink) : 1047 : R
Relicanthus sp. 1 : 1207 : R
Bathypathes sp. (brown) : 284 : R
Telopathes sp. : 1043 : R
Caryophyllia sp. 2 : 6 : R
Flabellum sp. : 1056 : R
Anthomastus grandiflorus : 278 : R

Lepidisis sp. : 557 : R
Umbellula sp. : 581 : R
Annelida
Serpulidae sp. 1 : 106 : R
Arthropoda
Galacantha sp. : 1144 : R
Echinodermata
Bathycrinidae sp. : 1141 : R
Bathycrinidae sp. 2 cf. Porphyrocrinus thalassae : 1045 : R
Anachalypsicrinus nefertiti : 1031 : R
Crinoidea sp. 1 : 131 : R
Ophiomusa lymani : 551 : R
Ophiuroidea (indet.) : 1076 : R
Brisingidae sp. : 274 : R
Pterasteridae sp. : 1115 : R
cf. Echinus (deep pink spine) : 1129 : R
Echinoidea sp. 5 : 572 : R

Mesothuria intestinalis : 536 : R
Mesothuria sp. : 1206 : R
Oneirophanta mutabilis : 1153 : R
Holothuroidea sp. (pink deep) : 1179 : R
Chordata
Hydrolagus cf. affinis : 1039 : R
Gaidropsarus argentatus : 174 : R
Coryphaenoides guentheri : 577 : R
Lepidion eques : 249 : R
Mora moro : 349 : R
Polyacanthonotus rissoanus : 552 : R
Notacanthiformes sp. 1 : 1012 : R
Zoarcidae sp. 1 : 259 : R

Number of species = 40

© Marine Institute, MERC Consultants, Bernard Picton 2022