A previously unknown species of coral has been discovered in Hannibal Bank, a guyot seamount off Pacific Panama.
Psammogorgia pax. Image credit: Hector Guzman / Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Named Psammogorgia pax, the newly-discovered species is a white and fan-shaped octocoral.
The colony is made of microscopic bone-like calcium carbonate structures, called sclerites.
The composition of sclerites is characteristic for this new species and differentiates it from others in the genus Psammogorgia.
Psammogorgia pax was collected at the mesophotic depth of 207 feet (63 m) in Hannibal Bank, a flat-topped seamount located in Coiba National Park.
“Exploring the mesophotic zone and beyond has always been a challenge for scientists,” said Dr. Hector Guzman, a researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
“We need submersibles or remotely operated underwater vehicles to search and collect specimens.”
“Not always do we have access to these resources, but each time we go deep, we come up with something new.”
The discovery and description of Psammogorgia pax is a valuable contribution to understanding octocoral diversity in Panama, a major component of mesophotic and deep-water coral communities.
Ultimately, increasing knowledge about these ecosystems will be essential for safeguarding their long-term conservation.
Meanwhile, the marine researchers remain concerned about the future of the Hannibal Bank seamount, whose rich biodiversity has only been recently explored. They consider that the area could benefit from stronger environmental and conservation protections.
“The management of this international protected seamount could be reinforced, as it faces heavy fishing pressure,” Dr. Guzman said.
“The same goes for the rest of Panama seamounts that we haven’t explored yet for lack of resources.”
The discovery is reported in a paper in the Bulletin of Marine Science.
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Odalisca Breedy et al. A new species of the genus Psammogorgia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Octocorallia) from the Hannibal Bank in Pacific Panama. Bulletin of Marine Science, published online September 20, 2019; doi: 10.5343/bms.2019.0072
