the largest coral ever recorded, visible even from space.
The mega-coral, which is a collection of many connected, tiny creatures that together form an organism, it could be over 300 years old. It’s also bigger than a blue whale, the team says.
It was found by a videographer working on a National Geographic ship that visits remote parts of the Pacific to see how it has been affected by climate change. “I went diving in a place where the map said there was a wreck and then I saw something,” said Manu San Felix.
He called his diving partner, who is also Inigo’s son, and they dived in to inspect it.
Seeing the coral, which is found in the Solomon Islands, was like seeing a “cathedral under water”he said.
“It’s very emotional. I felt this tremendous respect for something that stayed in one place and survived for hundreds of years,” he said.
“I thought, ‘Wow, this was here when Napoleon was alive,'” he added.
Mission scientists measured the coral using a type of tape measure used underwater. It is 34 meters wide, 32 meters long and 5.5 meters high.
Globally, corals are facing serious pressures as the oceans warm with climate change.
They are often described as the “architects” of the seas as they can join together to form huge reefs where fish and other species live.
This specimen was found in deeper water than some coral reefs, which may have protected it from warmer sea surface temperatures.
The discovery was also announced at his conference UN Climate COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The conference is being held to mark progress in tackling climate change.
With information from the BBC
