– Cabliers Bank: abundant dead reefs with living colonies up to 1 m tall at about
320 m depth (Pardo et al. 2011). These authors highlighted a reef south of the
bank that extends over an area of about 10 ha. Likewise Lo Iacono et al. (2014a)
and Corbera et al. (2019) pointed out an extremely dense and constant reef with
large colonies of D. pertusum and M. oculata over a considerable extension about
300 m depth in its northern sector.
– Banc de Provençaux: individual living colonies of M. oculata and D. pertusum
growing on the dead coral framework in the southerly ridges of the bank at 310 m
depth (Hebbeln et al. 2009).
– West Melilla Mounds Field: frequent D. pertusum and M. oculata, below 350 m,
with the latter species dominating the shallower areas (Lo Iacono et al. 2014a, b).
– Strait of Gibraltar: remarkable quantities of living Desmophyllum pertusum and
to a lesser extent Madrepora oculata associated with large dead coral fragments
at the depth range of 150–330 m (Álvarez-Pérez et al. 2005).
Other stony corals that form important marine habitats are the so-called “yellow
tree corals” of the genus Dendrophyllia, represented in the Mediterranean by two
species: D. cornigera and D. ramea (Fig. 10.13). Both are also present in the
northeastern Atlantic and form large branched colonies but differ significantly in
morphology, geographical distribution and ecology (Salomidi et al. 2010).
Dendrophyllia cornigera extends further north than D. ramea, and its northern
limit is the Celtic Sea, whereas D. ramea does not range further north than the
Iberian Peninsula. Both species are common along the Atlantic coast of Morocco
and occur further south along the African coast. A third smaller species of this genus,
D. laboreli, is distributed along the Atlantic coasts of northwest Africa, reaching the
Strait of Gibraltar (López-González et al. 2010), and isolated colonies have been
found at Cabo Negro, on the Moroccan coast of the Alboran Sea (Ocaña et al. 2011).
The tree-like colonies of D. ramea reach up to 1 m high and 20 cm in diameter at
the trunk base. In the Mediterranean, it was considered to be limited to the southwestern part of the Mediterranean Sea, but recently it has been found in the southern
Croatian islands, Adriatic Sea (Kružić et al. 2002), from Greek waters in the southwest Korinthiakos Gulf (Salomidi et al. 2010) and off Cyprus in the Levantine Sea
(Orejas et al. 2017). This coral is distributed in circalittoral rocky bottoms and can be
observed within scuba diving depths, as shallow as 30–40 m in the Strait of Gibraltar
(Ocaña et al. 2009) and in some localities of the Alboran Sea, such as the coast of
Granada (Ocaña et al. 2000) or Chafarinas Islands (Maldonado et al. 2011). In the
Alboran Ridge, Templado et al. (2006) and Gofas et al. (2014) found this coral
deeper, between 90 and 115 m. Likewise, huge populations of D. ramea were
recently discovered in the northern coast of Sicily between 80 and 120 m depth
(Aguilar et al. 2017), around 130 depth off Cyprus (Orejas et al. 2017) and in
submarine canyons off Lebanon (Ricardo Aguilar pers. obs.). This coral is common
in the Canary Islands, forming banks between 60 and 150 m (Brito and Ocaña 2004).
The tree-like colonies of Dendrophyllia cornigera reach up to 60 cm high
(normally it does not exceed 30–40 cm) and 10 cm in diameter at the trunk base
(Brito and Ocaña 2004). This coral typically occurs deeper than D. ramea, at deep
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J. Templado et al.
320 m depth (Pardo et al. 2011). These authors highlighted a reef south of the
bank that extends over an area of about 10 ha. Likewise Lo Iacono et al. (2014a)
and Corbera et al. (2019) pointed out an extremely dense and constant reef with
large colonies of D. pertusum and M. oculata over a considerable extension about
300 m depth in its northern sector.
– Banc de Provençaux: individual living colonies of M. oculata and D. pertusum
growing on the dead coral framework in the southerly ridges of the bank at 310 m
depth (Hebbeln et al. 2009).
– West Melilla Mounds Field: frequent D. pertusum and M. oculata, below 350 m,
with the latter species dominating the shallower areas (Lo Iacono et al. 2014a, b).
– Strait of Gibraltar: remarkable quantities of living Desmophyllum pertusum and
to a lesser extent Madrepora oculata associated with large dead coral fragments
at the depth range of 150–330 m (Álvarez-Pérez et al. 2005).
Other stony corals that form important marine habitats are the so-called “yellow
tree corals” of the genus Dendrophyllia, represented in the Mediterranean by two
species: D. cornigera and D. ramea (Fig. 10.13). Both are also present in the
northeastern Atlantic and form large branched colonies but differ significantly in
morphology, geographical distribution and ecology (Salomidi et al. 2010).
Dendrophyllia cornigera extends further north than D. ramea, and its northern
limit is the Celtic Sea, whereas D. ramea does not range further north than the
Iberian Peninsula. Both species are common along the Atlantic coast of Morocco
and occur further south along the African coast. A third smaller species of this genus,
D. laboreli, is distributed along the Atlantic coasts of northwest Africa, reaching the
Strait of Gibraltar (López-González et al. 2010), and isolated colonies have been
found at Cabo Negro, on the Moroccan coast of the Alboran Sea (Ocaña et al. 2011).
The tree-like colonies of D. ramea reach up to 1 m high and 20 cm in diameter at
the trunk base. In the Mediterranean, it was considered to be limited to the southwestern part of the Mediterranean Sea, but recently it has been found in the southern
Croatian islands, Adriatic Sea (Kružić et al. 2002), from Greek waters in the southwest Korinthiakos Gulf (Salomidi et al. 2010) and off Cyprus in the Levantine Sea
(Orejas et al. 2017). This coral is distributed in circalittoral rocky bottoms and can be
observed within scuba diving depths, as shallow as 30–40 m in the Strait of Gibraltar
(Ocaña et al. 2009) and in some localities of the Alboran Sea, such as the coast of
Granada (Ocaña et al. 2000) or Chafarinas Islands (Maldonado et al. 2011). In the
Alboran Ridge, Templado et al. (2006) and Gofas et al. (2014) found this coral
deeper, between 90 and 115 m. Likewise, huge populations of D. ramea were
recently discovered in the northern coast of Sicily between 80 and 120 m depth
(Aguilar et al. 2017), around 130 depth off Cyprus (Orejas et al. 2017) and in
submarine canyons off Lebanon (Ricardo Aguilar pers. obs.). This coral is common
in the Canary Islands, forming banks between 60 and 150 m (Brito and Ocaña 2004).
The tree-like colonies of Dendrophyllia cornigera reach up to 60 cm high
(normally it does not exceed 30–40 cm) and 10 cm in diameter at the trunk base
(Brito and Ocaña 2004). This coral typically occurs deeper than D. ramea, at deep
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J. Templado et al.