Avilés Canyon


The Avilés Canyon is a submarine canyon located off the coast of Asturian, Spain in the Cantabrian Sea. It makes up a system of submarine canyons called the Avilés Canyon System with the Corviro and La Gaviera canyons. It runs obliquely off the coast for 75 kilometers and reaches depths of nearly 5 kilometers making it one of the deepest submarine canyons on Earth.

Biodiversity

It is a hotspot in biodiversity with around 1,300 different species being found in the Avilés Canyon. Many whale species such as Sperm whales use this area as a passing zone. There are many species of starfish found in this canyon with species such as Nymphaster arenatus and Henricia caudani being frequently observed. Species of white coral such as Madrepora occulata and Lophelia pertusa also build reefs in cold waters that can date back to more than 8,000 years ago.

List of species observed

Cetacea

  1. Sperm whale

Asteroidea

Source:
  1. Henricia caudani
  2. Henricia sexradiata
  3. Myxaster perrieri
  4. Novodinia pandina
  5. Nymphaster arenatus
  6. Radiaster tizardi

Cephalopoda

  1. Giant squid

Coral

Source:
  1. Madrepora occulata
  2. Lophelia pertusa