The world's largest coral has been discovered in the Solomon Islands

It is 300 years old and can even be seen from space.It was discovered in the Coral Triangle thanks to an expedition by the National Geographic society.

It is 300 years old and can even be seen from space.It was discovered in the Coral Triangle thanks to a shipping of the National Geographic Society.It is 32 meters long, 34 meters wide and 5 meters high, and is more than 300 years old.It's about the largest coral ever discovered on Earth, so large that it is even visible from space.The discovery took place in the Pacific waters around the Solomon Islands, thanks to the Pristine seas expedition of the National Geographic society.

Finding this mega-coral is like finding the tallest tree on Earth

To be precise, it is a colony of corals, composed of over a billion polyps, the small organisms that make corals "alive" which, by working together and producing calcium carbonate, create the coral exoskeletons.

The largest coral discovered so far

“The discovery was truly accidental,” commented Molly Timmers, researcher leading the expedition.“We found it the night before we moved to another area.”When they spotted this enormous shape at 13 meters deep they initially thought it was a wreck.

The coral is of the species Pavona clavus, which is generally found in deep waters, a fact that protects it from surface warming of the waters.It was indeed found in good condition by scientists, who however underline its vulnerability due to climate change.They hope this discovery will spur greater conservation action in the waters of the Solomon Islands, considering that corals are indeed crucial habitats for many species.

This coral colony specifically is estimated to be at least 300 years old, an age that is generally calculated in relation to its height.“Life really created this colony and sustained it,” Timmers said.“It's as if our ancestors were still there in the water“.

The biodiversity to be protected in the Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands they have an extraordinary marine biodiversity, thanks to their location in the Coral Triangle, one of the richest areas of marine life in the world.Their ecosystems include coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, and deep ocean trenches, home to more than 500 species of coral and thousands of species of fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and other marine creatures.Coral reefs shelter iconic species such as sea turtles, manta rays and sharks, as well as being vital to the activities and livelihoods of local communities.