Fred Bavendam / Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas), Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Pacific Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizi) female on land to lay eggs, Espumilla Beach, Santiago Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Pacific Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizi) female digging in sand to lay eggs, Espumilla Beach, Santiago Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Pacific Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizi) female on land laying eggs, Espumilla Beach, Santiago Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Pacific Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizi) pair mating, Espumilla Beach, Santiago Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Steel Pompano (Trachinotus stilbe) group cleaning Pacific Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizi), Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Steel Pompano (Trachinotus stilbe) group cleaning Pacific Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizi), Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Pacific Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizi) swimming over reef off Santiago Island, endangered, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Pacific Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizi) amid seaweed off Fernandina Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Pacific Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizi) swimming off Fernandina Island, endangered, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Fred Bavendam / Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas), Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Fred Bavendam / Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) swimming, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Pacific Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizi) swimming off Fernandina Island, endangered, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Norbert Wu / Flamingo Tongue Snail (Cyphoma gibbosum) feeding on Common Sea Fan (Gorgonia ventalina) showing deep purple tone where the Sea Fan has released protective compounds, Saba, Caribbean

Georgette Douwma / Kaleidoscopic image of gorgonian (Gorgoneaceae) coral. Indonesia.

Georgette Douwma / Kaleidoscopic image of polyps on gorgonian coral. West Papua, Indonesia.

Georgette Douwma / Kaleidoscopic image of polyps on gorgonian coral. West Papua, Indonesia.

Georgette Douwma / Kaleidoscopic image of polyps on gorgonian coral. West Papua, Indonesia.

Magnus Lundgren / Wild Wonders of China / Polyps feeding, Gorgonian sea fan (Gorgoniidae) Xiaoliuqiu Island, Taiwan

Georgette Douwma / Polyps on gorgonian fan coral. West Papua, Indonesia.

Georgette Douwma / Polyps on gorgonian fan coral. West Papua, Indonesia.

Franco Banfi / Scuba diver and sea fan (Rumphella sp), Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sulu Sea, Cagayancillo, Palawan, Philippines

Pete Oxford / Sea fan (Gorgonia sp) & Feather star (Crinoidea) Rainbow Reef, Fiji, South Pacific.

Sue Daly / Warty coral (Eunicella verrucosa), Sark, British Channel Islands, UK, August,

Alex Mustard / Red gorgonians (Lophogorgia chilensis) growing beneath a Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) forest, with female California sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher). Santa Barbara Island, Channel Islands. Los...

Alex Mustard / Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi) swimming over Common sea fans (Gorgonia ventalina) on a coral reef. East End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies. Caribbean Sea

Alex Mustard / Red gorgonian (Lophogorgia chilensis) growing beneath a forest of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), with female California sheephead fish (Semicossyphus pulcher). Santa Barbara Island, Channel Island...

Alex Mustard / Red gorgonian (Lophogorgia chilensis) growing beneath a forest of Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera). Santa Barbara Island, Channel Islands. California, USA. North East Pacific Ocean.

Georgette Douwma / Gorgonian sea fan (Melithaea sp.) with Lyretail anthias (Pseudanthias sqamipinnis) Similan Islands, Andaman Sea, Thailand.

Franco Banfi / Red gorgonian coral (Lophogorgia chilensis) and Yellow gorgonian (Eunicella cavolini) growing in a rock crevice, Ponza Island, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / Scuba diver with Red gorgonian coral (Paramuricea clavata), Santa Teresa, Sardinia, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / Mediterranean feather star (Antedon mediterranea) on a White gorgonian coral (Eunicella singularis), Punta Campanella Marine Reserve, Massa Lubrense, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / Red gorgonian coral (Paramuricea clavata) covered with mucilage, a symptom of rising sea temperature, Ventimiglia, Italy, Ligurian Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / Yellow gorgonian (Eunicella cavolini) covered with mucilage, a symptom of rising sea temperature, Punta Campanella Marine Reserve, Massa Lubrense, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / Red gorgonian coral (Paramuricea clavata) covered with mucilage, a symptom of rising sea temperature, Punta Campanella Marine Reserve, Massa Lubrense, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / Yellow gorgonian (Eunicella cavolini), Vis Island, Croatia, Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean

Franco Banfi / Red fan corals (Paramuricea clavata), Yellow gorgonian, (Eunicella cavolini) and Yellow cave-sponges (Aplysina cavernicola), Ischia Island, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / Wide angle of a group of Sea stars (Hacelia attenuata), Vis Island, Croatia, Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / Fireworm (Hermodice carunculata) on a Yellow gorgonian (Eunicella cavolini) covered with mucilage, Vis Island, Croatia, Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean

Franco Banfi / Yellow gorgonian (Eunicella cavolini) covered with mucilage, a symptom of rising sea temperature, Vis Island, Croatia, Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / Mucilage covering a reef, Vis Island, Croatia, Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / Red gorgonian coral (Paramuricea clavata) covered in mucilage, a symptom of rising sea temperature, Punta Campanella Marine Reserve, Massa Lubrense, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / Two Red sea-squirts (Halocynthia papillosa) on a Yellow gorgonian (Eunicella cavolini), Punta Campanella Marine Reserve, Massa Lubrense, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / Flamingo tongue cowrie (Cyphoma gibbosum) on Common sea fan (Gorgonia ventalina) Santa Lucia, Camaguey, Cuba, Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean

Franco Banfi / Branches of a gorgonian coral (Plexaurella sp) and Common sea fan (Gorgonia ventalina) Santa Lucia, Camaguey, Cuba, Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean

Franco Banfi / Azure vase sponge (Callyspongia plicifera) and Common sea fan (Gorgonia ventalina) Santa Lucia, Camaguey, Cuba, Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean

Alex Mustard / Hamners tritonia (Tritonia hamnerorum) nudibranchs feeding on a common sea fan (Gorgonia ventalina). Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman, Cayman Islands. Caribbean Sea.

Alex Mustard / Common seafan (Gorgonia ventalina) with sun shining behind, East End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, Caribbean Sea.

Pete Oxford / Soft Coral (Gorgonia sp) on reef, Banco Chinchorro, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Pete Oxford / Gorgonian Sea Fan (Gorgonia sp), Rainbow Reef, Fiji

Sue Daly / Fan Coral (Eunicella verrucosa) white specimen, Guillaumesse, Sark, British Channel Islands.

Sue Daly / Fan Coral (Eunicella verrucosa) white and orange specimens, Guillaumesse, Sark, British Channel Islands.

Michael Pitts / Longnose hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus) on large gorgonian seafan. West New Britain.

Alex Mustard / A nudibranch (Tritonia nilsodhneri) feeding on pink sea fan (Eunicella verrucosa). Breakwater Fort, Plymouth, Devon, England, Great Britain. Plymouth Sound, English Channel.

Franco Banfi / John Dory (Zeus Faber) in front of a wall covered on Yellow gorgonian (Eunicella cavolini) Stupiste Out dive site, Vis Island, Croatia, Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean

Franco Banfi / White gorgonia (Eunicella singularis) Ischia Island, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean

Franco Banfi / Yellow gorgonian (Eunicella cavolini) Stupiste Out dive site, Vis Island, Croatia, Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean

Franco Banfi / Scuba diver and yellow gorgonia, (Eunicella cavolini) Ischia Island, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean

Franco Banfi / Scuba diver and Red seafan (Paramuricea clavata) Yellow gorgonian (Eunicella cavolini) and Yellow Cluster Anemone (Parazoanthus axinellae), Punta Sant'Angelo dive-site, Ischia Island, Italy, Tyrrhenia...

Franco Banfi / Red seafan (Paramuricea clavata) Yellow gorgonian (Eunicella cavolini) and Yellow Cluster Anemone (Parazoanthus axinellae) Punta Sant'Angelo dive-site, Ischia Island, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterran...

Fred Bavendam / Flamingo Tongue Snail (Cyphoma gibbosum) on a Common Sea Fan (Gorgonia ventalina), Bahamas, Caribbean

Chris Newbert / Giant Basket Star (Astrophyton muricatum) juvenile on Common Sea Fan (Gorgonia ventalina), Belize

Fred Bavendam / Sea Fan (Gorgoniidae) and red and yellow Soft Coral (Dendronephthya sp) covering rock, Ko Tachi, Andaman Sea, Thailand

Franco Banfi / Purple queen anthias (Pseudanthias tuka), Lyretail anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) and other reef fish swimming amongst Box fire coral (Acropora millepora) and Sea whips (Leptogorgia virgulata) on...

Alex Mustard / Flamingo tongue cowrie (Cyphoma gibbosum) resting on a Common sea fan (Gorgonia ventalina), Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, Caribbean Sea.

Tom Vierus / Colorful red soft coral (Alcyonacea) and several Sea fans (Gorgonia sp.) and Sponges (Porifera) on coral reef at Yellow Mellow, a famous dive site in the Vatu-i-Ra Conservation Park located between Vi...

Tom Vierus / Mimic filefish (Paraluteres prionurus) and a Moon wrasse (Thalassoma lunare) swimming among a Sea fan, Vatu-i-Ra Conservation Park, between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, Fiji, Pacific Ocean.

David Fleetham / Diver swimming past coral reef with Gorgonian fans (Alcyonacea sp.), Red whip corals (Leptogorgia virgulata), Bluespot butterflyfish (Chaetodon plebeius), Fiji, Pacific Ocean.

Alex Mustard / A pair of Flamingo tongue cowries (Cyphoma gibbosum) on a common sea fan (Gorgonia ventalina) which they predate upon, East End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies, Caribbean Sea.

David Fleetham / Yellow damselfish (Amblyglyphidodon aureus) swimming over coral head covered with gorgonian fans (Gorgonia sp.) with scuba diver in background, Fiji, Pacific Ocean. Model released.

Alex Mustard / Flamingo tongue snail (Cyphoma gibbosum) feeding on Common sea fan (Gorgonia ventalina), Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, Caribbean Sea.

Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Birds nest coral (Pinnigorgia sp.) on white background, Indianapolis Zoo.

Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Birds nest coral (Pinnigorgia sp.) on black background, Indianapolis Zoo.

David Fleetham / Palau chambered nautilus (Nautilus belauensis) in front of red Sea fan (Gorgonia) on a vibrant coral reef, Palau, Micronesia, Pacific Ocean.

Franco Banfi / Long-snouted seahorse / Spiny seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus) camouflaged on a White seafan (Eunicella singularis), Marine Protected area Punta Campanella, Costa Amalfitana, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea.

David Fleetham / Diver investigating a colourful coral head covered with gorgonian fans, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Model released.

Claudio Contreras / Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) sitting disoriented on top of Common sea fan (Gorgonia ventalina) after being driven out of hiding by fisherman. Caribbean spiny lobster fishery, Utila Island...

David Fleetham / Scalefin anthias / Scalefin basslet (Pseudanthias squamipinnis), in front of a gorgonian sea fan (Gorgonia sp.), Fiji, Pacific Ocean.

David Fleetham / An inflated Guineafowl pufferfish (Arothron meleagris) in front of sea fans (Gorgonia sp.) on a reef wall, Fiji, Pacific Ocean.

David Fleetham / Talbot's damselfish (Chrysiptera talboti) showing dark colouration, swimming over a seafan (Gorgonia sp.), this colour variation is only found in Fiji, Pacific Ocean.

Henley Spiers / Large Red sea fan (Gorgonia sp.) growing at cavern entrance, Palau Micronesia, Pacific Ocean.

Magnus Lundgren / Details of octo-coral polyps from sea fan (Gorgonian sp.) corals, Triton Bay, West Papua, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean.

Magnus Lundgren / Detail of octo coral polyps from Sea fan (Gorgonia sp.), Triton Bay, West Papua, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean.

Magnus Lundgren / Fan coral (Gorgonia sp.) with two clinging Feather star (Crinoidea), Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean.

Magnus Lundgren / Longnose hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus) swimming between branches of Fan coral (Gorgonia sp.), Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean.

Magnus Lundgren / Sea fans (Gorgonia sp.) and a scuba diver in Wayilbatan's Channel, a narrow channel covered in coral polyps feeding on the zooplankton carried by the current, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, P...

Tui De Roy / Chocolate chip sea star (Nidorellia armata) with Sea fan (Gorgonia sp.), Isabela Island, Galapagos, South America, Pacific Ocean.

Pascal Kobeh / Giant basket star (Astrophytonmuricatum) on a Common or Gorgonian seafan (Gorgonia ventalina) at night, Gardens of the Queen National Park, Cuba. Caribbean Sea.

Pascal Kobeh / A school of Common grunts (Haemulon plumierii) with a few Bluestriped grunts (Haemulon sciurus) and a Blue tang surgeonfish (Acanthurus coeruleus) on the reef with particularly common seafans or gorgo...

Pascal Kobeh / Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) on the reef with common seafans or gorgonians (Gorgonia ventalina), The Gardens of the Queen, Cuba, Caribbean Sea.

Pascal Kobeh / Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezii) on the reef with a school of juvenile Creole wrasses (Clepticus parrae) and above Common gorgonians (Gorgonia ventalina), The Gardens of the Queen, Cuba, Ca...

Sergio Hanquet / Yellow seafan (Leptogorgia viminalis), La Gomera, Canary Islands.

Sergio Hanquet / Yellow seafan (Leptogorgia viminalis), La Gomera, Canary Islands.

Sergio Hanquet / Red sea fan (Leptogorgia ruberrima), Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Franco Banfi / White seafan, (Eunicella singularis), Punta Campanella Marine Protected area, Costa Amalfitana / Amalfi coast, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean. October

Franco Banfi / Catshark egg, (Scyliorhinus sp.), on Yellow gorgonia, (Eunicella cavolini), Punta Campanella Marine Protected area, Costa Amalfitana / Amalfi coast, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean. October

Pascal Kobeh / Diver on the reef in the background with probably a palmate sea fan (Leptogorgia palma) and a few olive grunts / piggies. Western Cape, South Africa. Atlantic Ocean.

Franco Banfi / Spotted ray (Raja montagui) eggcase on Yellow gorgonian (Eunicella cavolini) Punta Campanella Marine Protected Area, Costa Amalfitana, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / Catshark eggcases (Scyliorhinus sp.) on Yellow gorgonian, (Eunicella cavolini) Punta Campanella Marine Protected Area, Costa Amalfitana, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean.

Franco Banfi / White seafan (Eunicella singularis) Punta Campanella Marine Protected Area, Amalfi Coast, Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean.

Francisco Marquez / Rainbow sea fan coral (Leptogorgia) on white background, Islas Marias Archipelago, Marias Biosphere Reserve, Mexico.

Francisco Marquez / Rainbow sea fan coral (Leptogorgia) on white background, Islas Marias Archipelago, Marias Biosphere Reserve, Mexico.

Pascal Kobeh / Coral reef with Giant barrel sponge (Xestospongia muta) and Seafan (Gorgonia ap) coral. Fish swimming above reef. Bahamas.

Alex Mustard / Red gorgonian (Lophogorgia chilensis) grows beneath a forest of Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), with kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus). Santa Barbara Island, Channel Islands. Los Angeles, Californi...

Alex Mustard / Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi) swimming over a coral reef, watched by a Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) surrounded by common sea fans (Gorgonia ventalina). Jardines de la Reina, Gard...

Sergio Hanquet / Yellow seafan (Leptogorgia viminalis) La Gomera, Canary Islands.

Alex Mustard / A shiver of Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezi) swim over a coral reef with Common sea fans (Gorgonia ventalina) and sea plumes (Pseudopterogorgia sp). Jardines de la Reina, Gardens of the Que...