On Thursday, as a National Geographic¹ expedition² was exploring the waters around the Solomon Islands, its members spotted³ something that looked like a shipwreck⁴ underwater. Intrigued⁵, they sent a diver down to investigate.

The object was not a shipwreck but a massive coral -- soon confirmed as the biggest coral in the world. The gigantic coral, which is visible from space and believed to be about 300 years old, stores an invaluable⁶ historical record of ocean conditions from past centuries.



“Just when we think there is nothing left to discover on planet earth, we find a massive coral made of nearly 1 billion little polyps, pulsing with life and color,” said Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer in Residence and founder⁷ of Pristine⁸ Seas, the expedition that made the serendipitous⁹ discovery.

The coral is three times bigger than the previous record holder¹⁰, which is known as “Big Momma” and located in American Samoa. While “Big Momma” is as tall as a giraffe, the new coral is the size of a blue whale.