Black coral

Photo: Hexacorallians of the World · CC BY-NC-SA

Caribbean black coral is a slow-growing colonial organism that can live for centuries and forms the structural backbone of deep mesophotic communities. Despite its name the living tissue is dark brown to olive; the skeleton turns black only after death. Dominica's black coral forests at Scotts Head are protected within the marine reserve and represent some of the most intact colonies remaining in the eastern Caribbean.