Sea Pens, New Zealand

Photograph by Brian Skerry , National Geographic

Soft corals called sea pens, usually found at depth, and a blue cod appear in shallow waters in New Zealand 's Long Sound reserve, where tannin-stained water blocks light. When disturbed, sea pens emit a greenish light and can deflate, retreating into their bulbous feet.

(From the National Geographic book Ocean Soul by Brian Skerry)

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