Close up on octocoral, likely a member of the family Primnoidae. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.2 MB).

Solitary stony cup coral with tentacles extended in feeding position. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.3 MB).

Galatheid squat lobster on an Anthomastus coral. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.1 MB).

Anemone-octocoral symbiosis. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.3 MB).

Brachyuran crab holding what seems to be an egg case. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.4 MB).

Crab-octocoral symbiosis. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.3 MB).

Close up on rockfish hanging on the side of boulder. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 689 KB).

An ophiuroid (brittlestar) on a plexaurid coral. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.1 MB).

Deep-sea flat fish are well adapted to a benthic lifestyle. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.4 MB).

Holothurian sea cucumber feeding on sediments. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.5 MB).

Hammerhead shark investigating the two-body ROV system. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.5 MB).

Deep-sea fish, such as this toadfish, have evolved bizarre morphological features as adaptations to this extreme enviroment. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.6 MB).

Galatheid squat lobster with extremely enlarged pereiopods . Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.6 MB).

Brachyuran crab half-buried in sediments. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.7 MB).

Small colorful shrimp next to octocoral colonies. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.2 MB).

A field of brachiopods and ophiuroids on the seafloor with several fish, corals and a seastar in view. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.7 MB).

ROV technicians secure Seirios to the EX deck after the Paramount Seamounts dive. Image captured by the Little Hercules ROV at 600 meters depth on the Paramount seamounts on July 14, 2011. Image courtesy of NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Download larger version (jpg, 1.4 MB).