The pink sea fan Eunicella verrucosa (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Alcyonacea) can form coral forests at mesophotic depths in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the recognized importance of these habitats, they have been scantly studied and their distribution is mostly unknown. This study reports the new finding of E. verrucosa forests in the Mediterranean Sea, and the updated distribution of this species that has been considered rare in the basin. In particular, one site off Sanremo (Ligurian Sea) was characterized by a monospecific population of E. verrucosa with 2.3 ± 0.2 colonies m⁻². By combining new records, literature, and citizen science data, the species is believed to be widespread in the basin with few or isolated colonies, and 19 E. verrucosa forests were identified. The overall associated community showed how these coral forests are essential for species of conservation interest, as well as for species of high commercial value. For this reason, proper protection and management strategies are necessary.

中文翻译：

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粉红海的脆弱森林范地中海小叶藻

粉红色的海扇Eunicella verrucosa（刺ni，Anthozoa，Alcyonacea）可以在地中海的中生深度形成珊瑚森林。尽管这些栖息地具有公认的重要性，但对其进行了很少的研究，其分布情况大多未知。这项研究报告了在地中海中发现的疣疣夜蛾森林的最新发现，以及该物种在该盆地罕见的更新分布。特别地，在圣雷莫（利古里亚海）附近的一个站点的特征是疣状大肠杆菌（E. verrucosa）的单特异性种群具有2.3±0.2个菌落m ^-2。通过结合新的记录，文献和公民科学数据，该物种被认为在该流域很普遍，几乎没有或孤立的殖民地，其中19鉴定到疣疣埃森氏菌森林。整个相关社区表明，这些珊瑚森林对于具有保护意义的物种以及具有高商业价值的物种至关重要。因此，必须采取适当的保护和管理策略。