Relatively little is known of the fauna found on rock substrates in the deep ocean. As a result of the Franco-British deep diving cruise Cyaporc in 1986 using the submersible Cyana we present observations of a highly diverse sponge, cnidarian and echinoderm fauna occurring between 1 800 and 3 000 m on the steep slopes to the west of the Porcupine Bank and Goban Spur. This fauna is dominated. by suspension feeders and appears to show a vertical zonation corresponding to water mass structure. The highest biomass and variety of echinoderms are found between 2 100 and 2 600 m bathed in northward flowing North East Atlantic Deep Water. We present also additional observations of species known from previous sampling programmes but rarely photographed in their natural environment.
