Divers stunned after discovering shadow they thought was wreckage was actually alive – News

It’s surprising that the divers didn’t have a massive panic attack after making a pretty shocking discovery.

If I were doing a deep dive, I really wouldn’t want any surprises.

I would like everything to be what I think. If it looks like a small fish, I would like to stay a small fish and not surprise myself and be a huge whale. If I thought something was a wreck, I’d like to know it’s not actually alive.

But for some divers searching the depths of the Solomon Islands, a country in Oceania, they made a discovery that would scare most people.

Luckily, they hadn’t found a prehistoric creature or even worse the Lovecraftian monster Cthulu, but it still amazed them.

What they thought was a ship wreck was actually the largest coral colony ever discovered.

Measuring 112 feet by 105 feet, it is even visible from space.

The team behind the discovery, National Geographic’s Pristine Seas Project, thought it was a shipwreck because the map they used suggested there was indeed one in the area.

The expedition’s lead scientist, Molly Timmers, said: “(His discovery) was truly serendipitous. »

“He was found the night before we moved to another section.”

The team explained that the colony is likely made up of nearly a billion genetically identical coral polyps that work together in the colony as if they were a single organism.

Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and founder of Pristine Sea, explained this in more detail.

She said: “Finding this mega coral is like discovering the largest tree on Earth.

“This discovery revives our sense of awe and amazement about the ocean. »

The coral is found at a depth of only 42 feet (12 m), which makes one wonder why it has never been discovered before.

Timmers also explained why it had not been found until now.

Speaking to National Geographic, she said: “It’s amazing that they just found this and no one really noticed it before.

“There is a Western belief that we have seen all our (coastal) waters.

“But many, many people don’t have masks and snorkels to stick their heads in the water and see it.

“It gives you this wow factor: life really created this and sustained this huge colony. It’s as if our ancestors were still there, in the water.