Sometimes the biggest discoveries are made not by research institutions with million-dollar grants, but by a mum and daughter with diving gear and a measuring tape.

Sophie Kalkowski-Pope, marine operations coordinator at the conservation organisation Citizens of the Reef, and her mother Jan Pope — an experienced diver and underwater photographer — have discovered what scientists believe is the world's largest known coral colony.

The enormous J-shaped structure, identified as Pavona clavus, stretches approximately 111 metres (364 feet) in length and covers nearly 4,000 square metres. To put that in perspective, it's roughly the size of a football field — an entire living organism, quietly growing beneath the waves of the Great Barrier Reef.

A Mother's Eye

Jan Pope first noticed something extraordinary during a dive late last year. 'I could see this structure going on and on,' she recalled. She returned with her daughter and proper measuring equipment to document what they were seeing.

The pair meticulously mapped the colony using manual underwater measurements and high-resolution photographs, which were later used to create a detailed 3D model for ongoing monitoring.

"This is among the most significant coral structures ever recorded in the Great Barrier Reef." — Citizens of the Reef

Why So Big?

Scientists are now investigating why this particular colony has grown to such an extraordinary size. Strong tidal currents at the site and lower exposure to tropical cyclone waves — compared to other parts of the reef — may have helped the coral thrive undisturbed for potentially hundreds of years.

The exact location has not been publicly disclosed, a deliberate decision to protect the colony from potential human impact.

Hope in a Time of Bleaching

The discovery comes at a critical time for the world's coral reefs, which face unprecedented threats from rising ocean temperatures and successive bleaching events. Finding a coral colony of this magnitude offers both hope and valuable scientific data about resilience.

But perhaps the most beautiful part of the story is who found it: not a government expedition or a university research vessel, but a mother and daughter who simply love the ocean.

'It shows the incredible value of citizen science,' researchers noted. 'The people who spend the most time in the water are often the first to notice when something extraordinary is hiding in plain sight.'

Somewhere beneath the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest known coral colony continues to grow — a living monument to patience, resilience, and the power of paying attention. 🪸

Sources: CNN, Citizens of the Reef