Recent study describes a new and long-lived species of black coral, which mostly occurs in deep-sea habitats that contain commercially-valuable seabed minerals. The new species belongs to a group of corals that includes the longest-living organisms in the ocean, with lifespans of different species ranging from several centuries to over 4,000 years. As such, this study adds to the mounting scientific evidence that these fragile deep-sea habitats should be protected from extractive activities, particularly from seabed mining and bottom trawling.
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