What Are Deep-Sea Corals?
Deep-sea corals are members of the Class of animals called Anthozoa, which among other creatures, includes sea anemones, stony corals, soft corals and sea pens. Deep-sea corals inhabit the colder deep waters of our continental shelves, submarine canyons, seamounts, mid-ocean ridges and other habitats within the ocean abyss to depths deeper than 6000 m. Where current and substrate conditions are suitable, these corals can form complex reefs, thickets or groves of high complexity, depending on species. Similar to the ancient redwood and sequoia trees, these animals are slow growing and can reach hundreds of years to over a millennia in age, they provide habitat for many other organisms (including species of economic importance), and their skeletons provide important historical records of climate change.
