Koh Tao, Thailand

A giant Diploastrea heliopora

🪸 📣Here comes a giant all the way from 🇹🇭 Thailand, thanks to our partner @global_reef , who has been supporting us over the past few months. The area where they operate appears to harbor quite a few of these incredible creatures, and their efforts in monitoring them have been remarkable. More reports will follow in the near future.

Considering that Diploastrea heliopora corals, like the one reported by Global Reef, have a particularly slow growth rate of approximately 3.6 mm per year (D’Olivo JP, Zinke J et al., 2024), this large colony, measuring 7.2 meters in diameter, could indeed be a truly ancient coral.

Map the Giants corals marhe center bicocca
Diploastrea heliopora from Thailand
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Published on: 13 September 2024