Scientists researching in the Galapagos Islands found thriving colonies of a coral long thought to be extinct.
According to Mongabay, the researchers, diving near Tagus Cove, detailed their find in a study published in the journal Marine Biology.
Overall, they found 209 colonies of Wellington's solitary coral. These weren't just hanging on by a thread. Instead, they were thriving, reproducing, and living their best life.
Known populations of Wellington's solitary coral disappeared after El Niño between 1982 and 1983, and researchers assumed it was gone.
Now, they believe that it may have survived in the deep sea, where water temperatures weren't affected the same way they were in shallower areas.
Now, Wellington's solitary coral joins a host of other species once thought to be extinct but found again, according to Rewild.org, such as the Louisiade pitta and the Pernambuco holly tree.
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Since all life on Earth is connected, the presence of more species is good news for everyone. It keeps Earth's biodiversity high, which helps ensure there is plenty of food for everyone who needs it. When food chains can be active all the way up and down, that translates into benefits for every form of life, from plant to animal and even up to human.
If you care about preserving the species that exist now, vote for politicians who also care about the planet. That way, they can enact laws that protect animals and direct money toward ongoing research about them.
Terry Gosliner, a senior curator at the California Academy of Sciences who co-authored the study, told Mongabay: "There were underwater handshakes and shouts of excitement. We didn't just rediscover the species, we saw healthy colonies reproducing. It was one of the most exciting underwater moments of my career."
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