During a recent reef coral survey at the submarine Saba Bank (Eastern Caribbean), an uncommon and diverse assemblage of unattached scleractinian corals (coralliths) was encountered, which has not been reported from the Atlantic before. Four different types of these free-living (unattached) corals were distinguished. They were observed on a relatively flat seafloor (15–20 m deep) with poor coral cover and full exposure to oceanic swell. Much of the substratum was not consolidated and consisted mainly of sand and fragments of branching coralline algae. One of the four types is the (1) anthocyathus stage in the life history of the free-living species Manicina areolata and Meandrina danae. The other three are coralliths formed as ecophenotypic varieties: (2) spheroidal–amoeboidal (= globular and (sub)massive) in Porites astreoides, Siderastrea radians, S. siderea, and Stephanocoenia intersepta; (3) tumbleweed-like (= globular and ramose) in Porites divaricata and P. furcata; and (4) discoidal (flat and circular with short branches) in Madracis decactis and possibly in M. cf. auretenra. This assemblage of free-living corals is likely related to a combination of abiotic factors consisting of wave exposure (swell), depths that waves can reach, a horizontal sea floor with little relief, an unconsolidated substratum, and low coral cover.

中文翻译：

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Saba银行，荷兰加勒比海浪扫过的珊瑚。

在最近的海底沙巴银行（东加勒比海）进行的珊瑚礁调查中，遇到了罕见的，多样的未附着的斯切拉宾人珊瑚（珊瑚石）组合，以前从未在大西洋上报道过。这些自由生活的（独立的）珊瑚分为四种类型。在相对平坦的海底（深15–20 m）上观察到它们，珊瑚覆盖较差并且完全暴露在海浪中。许多底层没有被巩固，主要由沙子和分支的珊瑚藻的碎片组成。四种类型之一是自由生活物种Manicina areolata和Meandrina danae的生活史上的（1）花期阶段。其他三个是作为生态表型变体形成的珊瑚石：（2）球形-类猿（=球形和（亚）块状）于多孔石tre，Siderastrea radians，S。siderea和Stephanocoenia intersepta中；（3）在Porites divaricata和P. furcata中的风滚草状（=球状和状）；和（4）盘螺（盘状和圆形，短枝状）在麦德氏乳杆菌中，可能在M. cf.中。奥雷特拉。自由生活的珊瑚的这种聚集可能与非生物因素的组合有关，这些非生物因素包括波浪暴露（膨胀），波浪可以到达的深度，水平海底几乎没有浮雕，底层没有固结和珊瑚覆盖率低。