Pavona: a new extraordinary giant from Bali

Pavona: a new giant from Bali

𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝙋𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙣𝙖 🪸

This remarkable huge 𝘗𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘯𝘢 colony from the north coast of Bali, well known by local divers, was reported simultaneously by a passionate individual and a diving centre—highlighting the power of community in ocean conservation.

It took weeks to document this giant properly. Thanks to the dedication of Easy Divers Bali, they waited for optimal visibility to capture the colony in its full majesty. The result: a stunning view of a coral stretching 78 meters in perimeter, resting at around 9 meters depth. Awesome!!!

Patience paid off—and so did collaboration.

At Map the Giants, size isn’t the only thing that matters. This 𝘗𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘯𝘢 may not be the largest in the world—but to us, it is just as important, and just as worthy of protection. Every giant coral colony is a discovery in its own right.

We study these giants from multiple perspectives:
Where are they found? What genus are they? What is their health status? And what do they mean for local communities?

We’re grateful to Easy Divers Bali for their ongoing commitment to monitoring and protecting this colony. We look forward to following its story over time.

A giant Pavona from the Red Sea

We are pleased to announce that the recently discovered giant by Red Sea Global in Saudi Arabia has already been officially submitted to our Map the Giants database. This huge 𝘗𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘯𝘢 seems to be broken into two sections, the longest of which measuring 22.5m in length. 15.9m in width and 7m in height. The second block measures 9.6 by 11.8m and 8m in height. The colonies (perhaps once a single colony) sit at a depth of 27m. Though smaller than the 𝘗𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘯𝘢 reported from the Solomon Islands in late 2024 by the National Geographic Pristine Seas team, this Red Sea giant is indeed a long-lived coral deserving attention and helping raise awareness on the invaluable organisms still thriving in our oceans!
We are truly grateful to Red Sea Global, Rhonda Suka and Sylvia Jagerroos for supporting Map the Giants.

More about this colony here: https://www.redseaglobal.com/en/-/media-center/a-800-year-lost-treasure-ancient-living-coral-giant-discovered-in-the-red-sea-breaks-records

A pavona in the sand

Who said sandy lagoons are lifeless? 🌊👀 We stumbled upon this giant Pavona sp. coral—54 meters in perimeter!—in a spot with barely any coral cover. Even in murky waters, nature finds a way! While part of it showed some damage, the rest of the colony looked impressively healthy. Proof that the ocean is full of surprises! 💙