Largest coral recorded

The largest coral ever recorded has been found by scientists in the southwest Pacific Ocean.

The mega coral - which is a collection of many connected, tiny creatures that together form one organism rather than a reef - could be more than 300 years old.

It is said to be bigger than a blue whale.

It was found by a videographer working on a National Geographic ship visiting remote parts of the Pacific to see how it has been affected by climate change.

Scientists on the expedition measured the coral  water to be 34m wide, 32m long and 5.5m high.

The coral is a species called Pavona clavus and provides a home to shrimp, crabs, fish and other marine creatures.

The age of the specimen also means it acts like a window into the history into oceanic conditions in the past. Scientists hope to study it to learn more about how it has grown.

This specimen was found in deeper waters than some coral reefs, which may have protected it from higher temperatures at the sea surface.

More about coral

Globally coral is facing severe pressures as oceans warm with climate change.

Corals are made of hundreds of thousands of living organisms called polyps, each with its own body and mouth, which grow together as a colony.  Some corals grow hard, outer skeletons and when many of these fuse together, they form a coral reef.

Some of these reefs can extend for huge distances, forming vast structures where fish and other species live.

Coral reefs also underpin the livelihoods of one billion people by supporting tourism or fishing, according to the World Economic Forum.

A report this week found that 44% of corals living in warm waters are threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. That is an increase of a third since the species were last assessed in 2008