{"id":264452,"date":"2024-11-14T00:25:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-14T00:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/14\/worlds-largest-coral-is-300-years-old-and-was-discovered-by-accident\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:10:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:10:31","slug":"worlds-largest-coral-is-300-years-old-and-was-discovered-by-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/14\/worlds-largest-coral-is-300-years-old-and-was-discovered-by-accident\/","title":{"rendered":"World\u2019s largest coral is 300 years old and was discovered by accident"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Measuring the massive coral<\/p>\n

Inigo San Felix\/National Geographic Society<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

In the south-west Pacific, off the coast of one of the tropical Solomon Islands, a giant structure beneath the water\u2019s surface has just been identified as the world\u2019s largest known coral.<\/p>\n

Visiting the remote site in mid-October, a team of scientists and film-makers from National Geographic<\/em> thought the object was so large, it must be the remains of a shipwreck.<\/p>\n

But when underwater cinematographer Manu San F\u00e9lix<\/a> jumped into the water to take a closer look, he was astonished by what he saw.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember perfectly just jumping and looking down, and I was surprised,\u201d he told reporters during a briefing. Instead of a shipwreck, San F\u00e9lix had stumbled upon the largest coral ever discovered. \u201cIt is enormous,\u201d he said. \u201cThe size is close to the size of a cathedral.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coral, which lies a few hundred metres off the eastern coast of Malaulalo Island, has been identified as the species Pavona clavus. <\/em>It measures 34 metres wide by 32 metres long, making it larger than a blue whale, and is thought to be 300 years old.<\/p>\n

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The discovery was a \u201chappy accident\u201d, says Enric Sala<\/a> of National Geographic<\/em>\u2019s Pristine Seas project, which\u00a0aims to inspire governments to protect ocean ecosystems through exploration and\u00a0research. It is by far the largest single coral colony ever discovered, easily beating the previous record holder<\/a> \u2013 a giant Porites<\/em> colony found in American Samoa in 2019, which was 22.4 metres in diameter and 8 metres in height.<\/p>\n

Over the past two years, record-breaking ocean temperatures have triggered a wave of coral bleaching events across the world<\/a>. But while other reefs around the Solomon Islands are showing signs of bleaching, Sala says the huge P. clavus<\/em> coral is looking healthy. It is a vital habitat for ocean life, he says, providing shelter and food for fish, shrimp, worms and crabs. \u201cIt\u2019s like a big patch of old growth forest.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the coral isn\u2019t immune from ecological threats, from local pollution and overfishing to global climate change. Sala says he would like to see more marine protected areas (MPAs) established to shield marine life from local pollution, alongside global action to tackle climate change. \u201cProtecting the reef cannot make the water cooler, cannot prevent the warming of the ocean,\u201d he says. \u201cWe need to fix that, we need to reduce carbon emissions. But MPAs can help us buy time by making the reefs more resilient.\u201d<\/p>\n

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