Explorations of the ridge system in the Central Indian Ridge (CIR) and Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) resulted in the collection of two black coral specimens. Based on the black coral morphology Dendrobathypathes isocrada Opresko in (Zool Meded 76:411–442, 2002) is being reported as the first record from the seamount (1917 m) in the CIR, the second black coral, Abyssopathes lyriformis Opresko in (Zool Meded 76:411–442, 2002) collected from a deeper region of (4007 m) the SWIR, whereas the latter has been previously reported from the Central Pacific and West Atlantic, West Indian Ocean, and Coral Sea, Australia in water depths ranging from 3475 to 4892 m. The present study not only expands the known distribution of these coral species to the Indian Ocean but also highlights the value of CIR and SWIR collections in improving our knowledge of the taxonomy and distribution patterns of black corals.
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