Good News, at Last: Coral Reefs Presumed Dead Have Been Found Teeming With Life

A reef off Benin in the Gulf of Guinea, long presumed dead since the 1960s, has been found alive after a new survey using modern sonar and underwater imaging.

Researchers identified two hard-bottom reef patches at about 54 meters deep and documented a living mesophotic coral community.

The site hosts multiple octocoral and black coral species, along with fish such as golden African snapper, blackbar soldierfish, and Guinean angelfish.

The discovery suggests some reefs thought lost may still survive in deeper waters, with important implications for biodiversity and reef conservation in a warming ocean.