Bubblegum Coral

This large bubblegum coral (Paragorgia arborea) was observed during Dive 19 of the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition. Based on published radial growth rates for this species, this colony is approximately 100 years old! We saw several large coral colonies during the dive, prompting one of our on-shore scientists to refer to the dive site as “the land of giants.”