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Updated Mon . Aug. 12 at 9:15 a.m. ET .
A type of coral common to the tropical Pacific but rare in Hawaii has been discovered off the coast of Oahu for the first time .
Table coral (Acropora cytherea) is common throughout the tropical Pacific, but in Hawaii its distribution is limited to French Frigate Shoals and neighboring atolls northwest of the main islands.
The tabular array coral , Acropora cytherea — call for its tablelike monotonic top that run above its stubby base — colonizes wide stretch of the mid - Pacific , but has only been spotted in three locations off of the independent Hawaiian Islands , and never around Oahu .
researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) base in Oahu notice the unexpected colony last November during a everyday Aqua-Lung survey off the southern coast of the island . base on the size of thecoral , they figure that it was about 14 yr old . A sum-up of their findings come out in the July way out of the journal Bulletin of Marine Science . [ colored Creations : Incredible Corals ]
" This discovery represents a significant contribution to the multifariousness of Oahu reefs , " Daniel Wagner , a NOAA researcher and an author of the paper , say in a assertion .
Table coral (Acropora cytherea) is common throughout the tropical Pacific, but in Hawaii its distribution is limited to French Frigate Shoals and neighboring atolls northwest of the main islands.
The team survey an area more than 2,000 square feet extensive ( 600 square meters ) , but did not find any extra tabular array coral Colony . They reckon this could indicate that the species is in the other stages of populating the Hawaiian Islands , likely traveling from the more abundant population on the mid - Pacific island Johnston Atoll , turn up 800 mil ( 1287 kilometers ) southwest of Oahu .
NOAA researcher, Brian Hauk, examines the newly-discovered table coral off Oahu.
