Page 41 - Caribbean Reef Life Demo

BUSHY BLACK CORAL (Antipathes caribbeana) < 4.5 m / 15 ft Large bushy colonies of repeatedly branching stalks, ettin ner to ards the ti s. entacles are hitish.
Black coral is not actually black; it appears as a delicate white bush-like structure. It is found under dark ledges or on deeper reefs, often near the limits of recreational diving. The name comes from the base, or holdfast, anchoring the coral to the reef. This has been collected for centuries for use as jewelry. In many parts of the Caribbean this rare and slow-growing coral is now endangered and the trade is outlawed, though some harvesting still continues in places.
lease do not buy black coral jewelry. It looks much better on the reef than it does on you.
Look closer into the branches of black corals to nd a number of animals that choose to call this rare and beautiful coral home. The Black Coral Shrimp p. 219 and Black Coral Barnacle p. 184 are found nowhere else. uvenile Trumpet sh p. 365 like to camou age themselves among black corals, their color changing to match the stalks.
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