A coral reef with thriving marine life has been discovered off Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands.
A scientific expedition discovered the two km-long reefs at the top of an underwater mountain created by volcanic activity at a depth of 400 m (1,000 ft).
Ecuador’s Environment Minister Jose Davalos confirmed the exploration team found “the first completely pristine coral reef … at the top of an underwater mountain.”
The previously unknown underwater colony surprised scientists, who assumed that only one reef existed in the volcanic archipelago – Wellington – along the coast of tiny Darwin Island.
Reefs in the area were severely damaged during the El Niño weather of 1982-83 when the sea surface warmed to devastating levels.
However, the newly discovered reef survived this event and comprises more than 50% of living coral.
Davalos tweeted, “Galapagos surprises us again.”
Stuart Banks, a senior marine scientist at the Charles Darwin Foundation and a participant in the expedition, emphasized,
“This is very important globally because many deep-sea systems are damaged.”
He added that the corals are several thousand years old.
Ecuador expanded the Galapagos Marine Reserve by more than 20,000 square miles last year to protect endangered species that migrate between the archipelago and Cocos Island in Costa Rica.
The islands are home to many endangered animals, including giant tortoises, albatrosses, and cormorants.