A huge sea creature has been discovered by scientists – that’s so big it can be seen from space.
Many believe the largest living sea creature to be the blue whale, which has been recorded to weigh up to 190 tonnes and measure up to 33 metres.
However, a new discovery off the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific blows even these statistics out of the water.
Scientists have discovered one of the largest known sea creatures – a coral the size of two football fields – which is so big it is visible from space and almost three times larger than the previous record holder, the National Geographic Pristine Seas team behind the discovery revealed. Added to that, it is also believed to be several centuries old.
Unlike a reef which is built on a symbiotic relationship between corals and sea anemones, coral is a standalone structure, belonging to the species Pavona clavnus, and is a communal organism of nearly one billion animals called polyps, which function together like a single organism.
The huge creature was found by a research vessel in the southwest Pacific Ocean in October. The brown mound measures at an incredible 34 metres wide and 32 metres long and is “about the size of a cathedral”, according to New Scientist.
Given its size and the slow pace at which corals grow, researchers estimate the mount to be at least 300 years old.
“Just when we think there is nothing left to discover on planet earth, we find a massive coral made of nearly a billion little polyps, pulsing with life and colour,” National Geographic explorer Enric Sala and founder of the Pristine Seas project said, according to The Independent.
She described it as a “significant” scientific discovery, likening it to finding the world’s largest tree. Even amid the ongoing global ocean warming and decades of changing environment, the megastructure appears to be thriving.
However, the scientists are concerned that coral bleaching may become an issue as the oceans get more acidic due to climate change. Corals use calcium carbonate in the water to create their skeleton. As the seas warm, they become more acidic due to excessive carbon dioxide emissions, making it harder for these organisms to stay healthy, the scientists explained.
As global temperatures rise, coral bleaching events become more frequent and severe, meaning that soon the vast majority of coral reefs could be wiped out.
Scientists, however, remain positive: “[Coral] now store information on how to survive throughout the centuries. The genetic code of these simple polyps is an enormous encyclopaedia that has written how to survive multiple climatic conditions,” Pristine Seas oceanographer Manu San Felix revealed.
Eric Brown, a coral scientist who was part of the expedition, described this coral oasis, found in slightly deeper waters, as “a beacon of hope”.
