The Beacon
West of cabrera
September 26, 2006
In the end, we had to take shelter for the night in Porto Petro. In the morning, the storm had subsided and we set sail toward Cabrera.
We did 2 transections with the robot in the limits of the Cabrera National Park in order to find out the state of the sea floors in the areas that are not included within the protected area: one in front of Cap Picamoscas and the other southeast of Punta Ancino.
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In both cases, the sea floors were made up of very fine sediment, with many sea pens, especially Funiculina cuadrangularis and Pennatula rubra. There were also many dead man's finger corals (Alcyonium acaule y Paralcyonium spinulosum). This area also proved to be rich in various species of flat fish, such as sole and plaice, but also the strange armoured searobin (Peristedion cataphractum), its rostrum and its long chins giving it an unusual appearance.
Once in a while, we spot a small rocky area where swallowtail seaperches (Anthias anthias) can be found, as well as combers (Serranus cabrilla), spoon worms (Bonellia viridis) and various sponges. These rocky areas are more common in the south, where we have also found branching corals (Dendrophyllia cornigera) and some small gorgonias that seemed to us to be of the Placogorgia species. There is another species we have not yet identified.
