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Osprey Reef is a submerged atoll in the
/ref> The reef is home to large and colourful soft corals. Sharks are common.
Osprey Reef is a submerged atoll in the Coral Sea
The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...
, northeast of Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Northwestern Group of the Coral Sea Islands
The Coral Sea Islands Territory is an external territory of Australia which comprises a group of small and mostly uninhabited tropical islands and reefs in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia. The only inhabited island is W ...
. Osprey Reef is roughly oval in shape, measuring , and covers around . It has a perimeter of . The central lagoon is only deep.
The reef sits atop a seamount
A seamount is a large geologic landform that rises from the ocean floor that does not reach to the water's surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abru ...
in deep water. It is an isolated location some from other reefs. The almost vertical reef walls, which rise from a depth of about , are home to a dwarf form of '' Nautilus pompilius'' that is isolated from other nautilus populations by more than . '' Schindleria brevipinguis'', one of the world's smallest fish, is found in the Osprey Reef lagoon.Watson, W.,; Walker, H.J. (2004). ''Records of the Australian Museum'' 56: 139–142.
The reef has no intertidal or emerged sand cay. The surrounding waters are part of the South Equatorial Current. The reef is protected within the Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve.
Corals
A 2009 expedition aimed to make discoveries in the deeper parts of the reef between below sea level. Relict fauna communities consisting of rock sponges, glass sponges, brachiopods and stalked sea lilies were discovered.Diving
The reef has been described as the "ultimate reef diving adventure".Alt URL/ref> The reef is home to large and colourful soft corals. Sharks are common.
See also
* List of reefsReferences
External links
{{Recreational dive sites, reereg Coral Sea Islands Coral reefs of Australia Seamounts of the Pacific Ocean Underwater diving sites in Australia