Brief Summary

Lophelia is a common cold-water coral, found throughout the ocean, generally at depths between 200 and 1000 meters, though there are records from as shallow as 40 m and as deep as 3000 m. Like familiar shallow/warm-water corals, Lophelia secretes a hard calcium carbonate skeleton, making it a reef-forming coral. It can form large reef systems, with complex three-dimensional structure, creating habitat for thousands of other species. (Fosså, 2011; Lophelia.org)