Mushroom Soft Coral

Mushroom Soft Coral (Anthomastus ritteri)

An ~20 m tall carbonate pinnacle, west of the active seep site at Southern Hydrate Ridge, hosts abundant soft pink corals and is a rich habitat for squat lobsters, clams, a variety of fish, and crabs. Photo credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF; Dive R1779; V14.

This coral is soft, meaning that it does not produce a calcium carbonate skeleton. Unlike the rigid, or hard, corals that thrive in shallow, sunlit, low nutrient areas, soft corals thrive in regions with less light and high nutrients. They typically feed on any free floating food in the water column. This type of mushroom soft coral is pink with a circular and oblong shaped fleshy body with tentacle-like projections coming out of it. The corals are found on the carbonate cobbles found on the sea floor.

Reference:
http://www.realmonstrosities.com/2012/03/mushroom-soft-coral.html

A jelllyfish swims above carbonate rocks, hosting beautiful soft corals, at the Pinnacle site. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF. V22.
A jelllyfish swims above carbonate rocks, hosting beautiful soft corals, at the Pinnacle site. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF. V22.
An Anthomastus sp. soft coral from J2-1230. Credit: UW/WHOI; Dive J2-1230; Pythias Oasis Cruise 2019 AT42-17.
An Anthomastus sp. soft coral from J2-1230. Credit: UW/WHOI; Dive J2-1230; Pythias Oasis Cruise 2019 AT42-17.
Beautiful soft corals are ubiquitous on carbonate deposits that form the Pinnacle at Southern Hydrate Ridge. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI. V20.
Beautiful soft corals are ubiquitous on carbonate deposits that form the Pinnacle at Southern Hydrate Ridge. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI. V20.
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This coral is not rigid, but is soft -it does not produce a calcium carbonate skeleton. The soft coral is at Southern Hydrate Ridge and the Pinnacle at depths around 775 m deep.
This coral is not rigid, but is soft -it does not produce a calcium carbonate skeleton. The soft coral is at Southern Hydrate Ridge and the Pinnacle at depths around 775 m deep.
An ~60 m tall carbonate pinnacle, west of the active seep site at Southern Hydrate Ridge, hosts abundant soft pink corals and is a rich habitat for squat lobsters, clams, a variety of fish, and crabs. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF; Dive R1779; V14.
An ~60 m tall carbonate pinnacle, west of the active seep site at Southern Hydrate Ridge, hosts abundant soft pink corals and is a rich habitat for squat lobsters, clams, a variety of fish, and crabs. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF; Dive R1779; V14.
Soft corals dot the rough carbonate surfaces of the ~ 60 m-tall limestone monolith west of the active seeps at Southern Hydrate Ridge. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF; ROPOS Dive R1779; V14.
Soft corals dot the rough carbonate surfaces of the ~ 60 m-tall limestone monolith west of the active seeps at Southern Hydrate Ridge. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF; ROPOS Dive R1779; V14.
A beautiful soft coral attached to hard substrate at Southern Hydrate Ridge, near Einstein's Grotto. Photo Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF, Dive R1750, V14
A beautiful soft coral attached to hard substrate at Southern Hydrate Ridge, near Einstein's Grotto. Photo Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF, Dive R1750, V14
mage of soft coral taken by the ROV ROPOS on dive R1750 at the Summit of Southern Hydrate Ride. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF; Dive R1750; V14.
mage of soft coral taken by the ROV ROPOS on dive R1750 at the Summit of Southern Hydrate Ride. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF; Dive R1750; V14.
Close up of a soft coral at the southern end of an ~ 60 m tall carbonate Pinnacle at Southern Hydrate Ridge.
Close up of a soft coral at the southern end of an ~ 60 m tall carbonate Pinnacle at Southern Hydrate Ridge.
Beautiful soft corals inhabit the hard carbonate substrate of the 60 m tall Pinnacle structure west of the major seep sites at Southern Hydrate Ridge. This site, at a water depth of ~ 550 m, hosts numerous white and orange bacterial mats, marking sites of weak venting of methane-rich fluids. The almost pummice-like structure of the pinnacle provides ample places for animals to live - small shrimp are extremely abundant. The Pinnacle is likely the fossilized 'throa'/plumbing system for a more ancient seep site that once inhabited this area.
Beautiful soft corals inhabit the hard carbonate substrate of the 60 m tall Pinnacle structure west of the major seep sites at Southern Hydrate Ridge. This site, at a water depth of ~ 550 m, hosts numerous white and orange bacterial mats, marking sites of weak venting of methane-rich fluids. The almost pummice-like structure of the pinnacle provides ample places for animals to live - small shrimp are extremely abundant. The Pinnacle is likely the fossilized 'throa'/plumbing system for a more ancient seep site that once inhabited this area.
Hagfish, corals, lobster at Southern Hydrate Ridge.Credit: UW/OOI-NSF/CSSF.
Hagfish, corals, lobster at Southern Hydrate Ridge.Credit: UW/OOI-NSF/CSSF.
A beautiful colony of soft corals grow atop carbonate blocks at the Pinnacle on Southern Hydrate Ridge.
A beautiful colony of soft corals grow atop carbonate blocks at the Pinnacle on Southern Hydrate Ridge.