Osprey Reef - Nautilus sampling and tracking detection sites

Osprey Reef is a submerged

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

in the Coral Sea, northeast of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. It is part of the Northwestern Group of the Coral Sea Islands. Osprey Reef is roughly oval in shape, measuring , and covers around . It has a

perimeter A perimeter is a closed path that encompasses, surrounds, or outlines either a two dimensional shape or a one-dimensional length. The perimeter of a circle or an ellipse is called its circumference. Calculating the perimeter has several pr ...

of . The central

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...

is only deep. The reef sits atop a seamount 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 The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect equiangular spiral, although it ...

'' that is isolated from other

nautilus The nautilus (, ) is a pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae. The nautilus is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina. It comprises six living species in ...

populations by more than . ''

Schindleria brevipinguis ''Schindleria brevipinguis'' is a species of marine fish in family Gobiidae of Perciformes. Known as the stout infantfish, it is native to Australia's Great Barrier Reef and to Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea. Anatomy ''S. brevipinguis'' is among t ...

'', 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 The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...

or emerged sand

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...

. The surrounding waters are part of the

South Equatorial Current The South Equatorial Current are ocean currents in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean that flow east-to-west between the equator and about 20 degrees south. In the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, it extends across the equator to about 5 degr ...

. 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 sponge Hexactinellid sponges are sponges with a skeleton made of four- and/or six-pointed siliceous spicules, often referred to as glass sponges. They are usually classified along with other sponges in the phylum Porifera, but some researchers consider ...

brachiopod Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, w ...

s 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.

References

External links

{{Recreational dive sites, reereg Coral Sea Islands Coral reefs of Australia Seamounts of the Pacific Ocean Underwater diving sites in Australia

Corals

Diving

See also

References

External links