When a massive coral colony was recently discovered in the Solomon Islands, it was believed to be the largest in the world. Then last week, scientists found an even bigger one in the waters off the Indonesian island of Bali. Coral restoration nonprofit Ocean Gardener announced that Indonesian marine biologists had measured a Galaxea astreata coral colony in Nusa Penida, a popular diving site, at 58 meters wide by 71 long (190 by 233 feet). It’s also 10 m (33 ft) deep and covers an area of more than 4,000 m2 (43,000 ft2). In comparison, the Pavona clavus coral colony in the Solomon Islands measured 34 by 32 m (112 by 105 ft). Vincent Chalias, founder of Bali-based Ocean Gardener, told Mongabay in an email, “Large colonies of that species [G. astreata] are quite common, but this one, definitely and by far [is] the biggest.” Ocean Gardener research and science coordinator Manikmayang was quoted in the announcement saying that, “This discovery has the potential to set a new world record. However, further testing is needed to confirm its status among the world’s giant coral colonies.” The coral is located in the Lombok Strait where the Pacific Ocean flows into the Indian Ocean, “a central location where corals can grow to gigantic sizes and produce billions of larvae that seed reefs all over the Indian Ocean,” Ocean Gardener said in its post. Chalias said that although the team knew about the large G. astreata coral colony, it only received training to…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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