Coral once feared extinct rediscovered in the Galápagos after 25 years

Coral once feared extinct rediscovered in the Galápagos after 25 years

Wellington’s solitary coral, a species thought to be extinct for more than two decades, was rediscovered in 2024 near Tagus Cove in Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands, according to a recent study.  Over multiple dives in 2024, scientists from the Charles Darwin Foundation, the Galápagos National Park Directorate, and the California Academy of Sciences spotted more than […]

Vanuatu to launch first-ever nationwide coral science report

The Blue Prosperity Vanuatu programme, in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries, Ocean and Maritime Affairs, is set to make history with the launch of Vanuatu’s first-ever Nationwide Coral Assessment Report.

A Ghostly Crab Trail Leads to One of the Ocean's Greatest Discoveries

In a remarkable discovery off the western coast of the Galápagos Islands, scientists have pinpointed a previously unknown hydrothermal vent field, thanks to a trail of ghostly crabs. For over 20 years, researchers had suspected the presence of this underwater feature but had struggled to identify its exact location. However, a team of researchers recently followed a series of squat lobsters, or galatheid crabs, that led them directly to the elus…

Long-lost ‘Forest sea star’ plant stuns scientists in Thailand

Long-lost ‘Forest sea star’ plant stuns scientists in ThailandLegacyA rare plant thought to have vanished from the face of the Earth has emerged like a botanical ghost, shocking scientists with its return after more than a century in hiding deep within Thailand’s rainforests. Botanists worldwide are celebrating the extraordinary rediscovery of Heterostemma brownii Hayata, also known as the Forest Sea Star. Part of the milkweed family (Apocynacea…