Octocoral specimen collected in the Antarctic

This soft octocoral, Acanthogorgia sp., provides shelter and protection for its polynoid polychaete worm symbiont. Collected at around 560 meters depth off Lecointe Island in the Gerlache Strait, Antarctic Peninsula.
Greenpeace is conducting scientific research and documenting the Antarctic’s unique wildlife, to strengthen the proposal to create the largest protected area on the planet, an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.