Discovered - The World's Largest Coral

Divers from National Geographic's Pristine Sea expedition exploring the Solomon Islands near the island of San Cristobal in October stumbled across what is probably the world's largest coral colony.

Manu San Félix spotted the colossal structure while filming near Malaulalo Island. Initially, the team thought they had come across a shipwreck due to the sheer size of the object detected on their maps, reports the Jerusalem Post. San Félix recalled, "I went diving in a place where the map said there was a shipwreck, and then I saw something." Diving down to investigate, he was astonished to find that the shadow was not a shipwreck but a world-record-beating mega-coral, covering an area 112 by 105 feet. Larger than a blue whale, the planet's largest animal, this spectacular coral is so enormous that it can be seen from space, yet it has long gone unnoticed.

In photos shared by the research team, the hard coral, called Pavona clavus or shoulder blade coral, looks like a lumpy brown mound covered in knobs. Closer views revealed bits of yellow, green, and purple.

Starting at 42 feet and extending down to 128 feet, its depth may have protected it from the warming ocean. Scientists have estimated it is 300 years old and composed of nearly one billion genetically identical coral polyps. Unlike a coral reef comprising many distinct colonies, this mega-coral is a single organism that has grown uninterrupted for centuries.

While it is the largest single coral ever discovered, even larger colonies might be undiscovered in remote stretches of the ocean. The previous record for the world's largest coral was a colony in American Samoa, roughly 70 feet wide.

This discovery comes at a time when coral reefs worldwide are vanishing. The latest research suggests that more than 40 percent of hard corals - those that build reefs, like this recently discovered colony - are at risk of extinction.

As to whether you will be able to explore this coral on a Solomons liveaboard, let us say we hope not.

Sources: New Scientist, EL PAÍS, The Independent, ABC News Australia, National Geographic, The Straits Times, The New Paper, El Peridico, France 24, The Hindu, ORF Science, Manila Times, Asharq Al-Awsat (English), O Globo, BBC News, Vox.com