While diving in the waters of Fiordland, off the coast of New Zealand’s South Island, researchers were amazed to discover an enormous black coral.
The coral is thought to be among the largest ever seen in New Zealand waters, measuring 4 metres high and 4.5 metres wide. It’s likely to be 300-400 years old.
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James Bell, a marine biologist at Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington, described the coral as “absolutely huge”.
“It’s by far the largest black coral I’ve seen in my 25 years as a marine biologist. Most black corals we come across when we’re diving are small, with the bigger ones usually less than two to three metres tall – so finding this one was really cool.”
Black corals are some of the longest-living organisms on Earth – although the estimated natural lifespan of a black coral colony is 70 years, specimens over 4,000 years old were found in 2009, at depths of nearly 300 to 3,000 metres (984 to 9,840 feet).
But such a long lifespan also means the species is slow to grow – and large corals like the one discovered in New Zealand are vital breeding stock.
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“Pinpointing where large corals occur means we can better protect them by letting people know where not to anchor their boats or drop pots,” explains Bell.
“We’d love to receive reports from anyone who knows of particularly large black corals that are greater than 4 metres so we can map their distribution and find out how common such large coral colonies are throughout Fiordland,” he added.
Black coral appears white, with its name coming from its black skeleton. The coral is protected under New Zealand’s Wildlife Act 1953, making it illegal to deliberately collect or damage these species.
Top image credit: James Bell
