A newly discovered species of coral found in deep ocean waters near Hawaii can live to be more than
4,000 years old, making it the longest-living marine species ever known, scientists report in the journal Zootaxa. The new species, known as Leiopathes annosa, is a type of black coral found at depths of 1,000 to 1,600 feet throughout waters off the Hawaiian Islands, including the PapahÄnaumokuÄkea Marine National Monument. Although it was previously misidentified as a species from the Mediterranean Sea, L. annosa has substantial physical differences from the Mediterranean species, say scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Smithsonian Institute. High-resolution radiocarbon dating of growth rings in the coral, much like those found in trees, showed that some L. annosa individuals can live for more than four millennia.
Leiopathes annosa, a new coral species