Scientists were stunned when they discovered that a shipwreck shadow they thought they had spotted under their boat last ...

It is a single colony comprising nearly a billion identical coral polyps. “Finding this mega-coral is like discovering the tallest tree on earth,” said Enric Sala, the founder of Pristine Seas.

A coral colony is a group of coral polyps — small, soft invertebrate — that live and grow together. The "mega" colony is made up of nearly one billion polyps, according to National Geographic.

The larva grows into a coral polyp, then a colony that matures and releases larvae that colonize other rocks. In time, it helps to create one of nature’s most spectacular ecosystems: a coral reef.

A new coral colony is established on a rock. A colony of the native Hawaiian coral Pocillopora meandrina settles and grows along the South Kona, Hawaiʻi Island reef. Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert!

13. #2009 Pachyphyllum: Most rugose corals were solitary, but a few grew in colonies. 14. #1416, 62 & 1405, species of Favosites: These specimens show the structure of a tabulate colony. Notice the ...

Coral polyps, the reef's building blocks ... As one house tops another, the colony expands like a city; other marine life quickly grabs on and spreads, helping cement all the pieces together.

Warm waters of South Pacific nestle a coral colony, unmatched in size, off the grimly far away island of Malaulalo ... this organism is a single organism made by millions of tiny working polyps. Its ...

In a stunning revelation, scientists have discovered the largest living being on Earth concealed beneath the warm waters of ...