Scientists announced Thursday that they had discovered the largest coral in the world, near the Solomon Islands in the Pacific.
“Nearly a billion small polyps”
“Just when we thought there was nothing more to discover on planet Earth, we found a massive coral made up of almost a billion small polyps, brimming with life and color,” said Enric Sala , marine ecologist.
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The coral was discovered in an area known as the Three Sisters in the southeastern Solomon Islands by a National Geographic team who were on a scientific expedition to the area. According to the researchers, this autonomous structure developed over around 300 years, from a “complex network” of tiny coral polyps. It is distinct from a coral reef, made up of many distinct colonies, they explained.
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Three times bigger than ''Big Momma''
Measuring 34 meters wide by 32 meters long, the new Solomons coral is three times larger than the previous record holder located in American Samoa and nicknamed ''Big Momma''.
“While 'Big Momma' looked like a huge ball of ice sitting on the reef, this newly discovered coral looks like the ice has started to melt, spreading out indefinitely across the seafloor,” said lead scientist Molly Timmers. of shipping. Its size is larger than that of a blue whale and it is “so colossal” that it could even be visible from space, she estimated.
“Glimmer of hope”
“While nearby shallow reefs have been degraded by warming seas, this large, healthy coral oasis in slightly deeper waters is a beacon of hope,” said coral specialist Eric Brown. Ocean acidity and warming are negatively affecting the region's ecosystems, including Australia's famous Great Barrier Reef.
