El Centro De Las Gorgonias

El Centro de las Gorgonias lies off Isla de la Juventud, Cuba's largest offshore island, in the Caribbean Sea south of the mainland near the maritime approaches to the Yucatan Channel. The name, meaning roughly the center of the gorgonians, points to a reef area shaped by soft coral growth such as sea fans and sea whips, and divers have reported blade fire coral and massive starlet coral formations here as well. Fish life reported at the site includes Atlantic blue tang, bluestriped and French grunt, schoolmaster snapper, and both redband and striped parrotfish moving through the reef structure. Sites in this part of Cuba are typically reached by boat from coastal towns on Isla de la Juventud.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• Massive Starlet CoralSiderastrea sidereaReported here · unconfirmed
• Blade Fire CoralMillepora complanataReported here · unconfirmed
• Striped ParrotfishScarus iseriReported here · unconfirmed
• Atlantic Blue TangAcanthurus coeruleusReported here · unconfirmed
• Bluestriped GruntHaemulon sciurusReported here · unconfirmed
• Schoolmaster SnapperLutjanus apodusReported here · unconfirmed
• French GruntHaemulon flavolineatumReported here · unconfirmed
• Redband ParrotfishSparisoma aurofrenatumReported here · unconfirmed