Divers discover a huge 400-year-old coral in Australia

A group of divers discovered a huge coral about 10.4 meters wide in a remote area of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral system, scientific sources reported Friday.

The gigantic semicircular porite coral, named Muga dhambi, is 5.3 meters high and is considered one of the oldest on the Great Barrier Reef, estimated to be between 421 and 438 years old. It was discovered last March by a group of amateur scientists diving near Orpheus Island in the far northeast of Australia.

"Its discovery is significant locally and globally. It is a giant coral that is a very important part of the coral reef ecosystem at Goolboodi and home to corals, sponges and several species of fish on the Great Barrier Reef," Adam Smith, lead author of the study published in the journal Scientific Reports, explained last Friday to Agencia Efe, quoted by the "Greensavers" portal.

However, its dimensions are below a giant coral from the American territory of Samoa, which at 17 meters wide by twelve meters high is the largest in the world, according to the scientific report.

This coral is in relatively good condition, but climate change and deteriorating water quality, as well as other threats, affect the Great Barrier Reef.

Scientists indicate that Mugha dhambi, where 70% of its structure is alive, is resilient because it has survived 80 major cyclones, various coral bleaching phenomena, and exposure to invasive species, among other stresses that include human activity.

Muga dhambi "is a great example of a beautiful and resilient coral that has survived and thrived for four centuries," Smith noted.

The Great Barrier Reef was almost declared an endangered world heritage site, but the Unesco committee decided not to include it, despite the fact that the International Union for Conservation of Nature last December changed its status from "significant concern" to "critical."

The Great Barrier Reef, which was added to the World Heritage List in 1981 and stretches 2,300 kilometers off the northeast coast of Australia, is home to 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish, and 4,000 varieties of mollusks.

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