Black Coral (Antipathes sp.)
Black Coral is well known for the jewelry make from it in Hawaii. The larger Black coral good for jewelry is found in over 45m of water. This makes it dangerous to get but many died trying to harvest it. Now it is mainly harvested by submersible since the shallow corals are gone. There is still some coral growing in shallow waters. The corals that can be seen now are not big enough to be harvested. They grow very slowly too. They will grow in shallower water in the shade of ledges and caves. Above is under a ledge at about 24m. Kauai 2021
Black Coral on a wall at about 28m. Niihau 2017
A closer look at the Black Coral. Kauai 2021