29/03/2026
BLACK CORALS
Any type of coral always catches my eye, but this was a new one for me!
Tucked beneath deeper ledges and inside swim-throughs in Roatán, I kept spotting intricate, almost bush-like green sea fans, so naturally I had to dive a bit deeper. Turns out, they were grey sea fan black coral, more specifically Antipathes atlantica.
Despite the name, they don’t appear black at all. Their living polyps give off soft greenish-grey hues, while the black comes from the skeleton hidden beneath.
They thrive in deeper, low-light reef zones, forming delicate, net-like fans and often relying on crevices for protection.
The ocean never ceases to amaze me, always drawing me in to look a little closer.
📷 inaturalist.org. Photo 129906905, (c) Matthew Bokach, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Matthew Bokach / orobourical. No changes made.
