Belongs to coral genus coral genus Porites, known for large coral groups
Australia, Sep 2: Scientists and members participating in a marine citizen science course with Reef Ecologic discovered a creamy brown, boulderlike, large coral on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Its age is more than 400 years.
It is hemispherical, 5.3 metres tall, and 10.4 meters wide. The coral reef was found off the coast of Goolboodi (Orpheus Island), part of the Queensland Palm Island group. It has been named Muga dhambi, meaning “big coral” by the traditional Manbarra people living there. It has withstood 80 major cyclones, 99 coral bleaching events, and centuries of exposure to other threats like climate change, declining water quality, overfishing, and coastal developments. So, restoration activities are recommended by the scientists to protect this rare, unusually resilient large coral.