Discovering biodiversity: 300 meters deep in the Italian sea
MoBioMarCal (Monitoring of Marine Biodiversity in Calabria), a
scientific marine exploration project, has revealed a wealth of
underwater species and diversity in Italy by using innovative
technology which allows to film nature very deep in the sea. For
the first time ever, three different species of black coral,
which are considered rare in Mediterranean seas, have been
filmed in their natural environment. One of these, Antipathes
dichotoma, has until now remained little known as it was
possible to study it only through fragments preserved in
museums. The filming robot used in project has also detected the
presence of vast forests of thousands and thousands of colonies
of another black coral, Antipathella subpinnata, which appears
white in its natural environment due to a "skin" which covers
its skeleton. This coral species is tree-shaped and it can reach
a diameter of ten centimeters and a height of 1.5 meters. Some
colonies can be thousands of ye