Marine biologists have found seven new coral species, representing up to six new genera, in the deep waters of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument northwest of Hawaii.
The colourful bamboo corals, some of which were 4,000 years old, were discovered in November 2007 during a three-week exploration of the conservation area, which was created under a proclamation by former US president George W. Bush in 2006.
The picture of this coral, from a seamount in water 1,750 metres deep, was taken by a submersible. The coral still lacks an official name. But members of biologist Les Watling's lab at the University of Hawaii at Manoa are calling it "Slurpisis". "It's built like a drinking straw, and 'isis' is the root name for the bamboo corals," explains Watling.
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Hawaiian waters yield corals with thirst for originality. Nature 458, 137 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/458137f
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/458137f
