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Story: Sea floor

Stony coral

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Stony coral

Beds of stony coral grow at depths of 900–1,000 metres on the Chatham Rise seamounts. They provide habitat for brittle stars, bristleworms and squat lobsters. The beds are fragile, however, and can be damaged by deep-water trawling.

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NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

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How to cite this page

Ashley Rowden, Sea floor – Life on the deep sea floor, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/8957/stony-coral (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Ashley Rowden, published 2 March 2009.