Rediscovery of Coral Reef in West Africa Highlights Potential for Undocumented Ecosystems
A coral reef, long presumed dead, has been rediscovered off the coast of West Africa, teeming with life. Researchers from the Institute of Halieutic and Oceanographic Research in Cotonou, Benin, led by Gérard Zinzindohoué, used modern sonar and underwater drones to locate the thriving ecosystem in the Gulf of Guinea. Historical surveys from the 1960s had identified a possible deep-water coral reef but assumed it was dead. The recent discovery revealed a mesophotic coral ecosystem, which lives in deeper, low-light zones, and is not a continuous structure but rather patches of coral. The reef hosts eight different types of coral and various fish species, including golden African snappers and Guinean angelfish. This finding marks the first confirmed record of a living mesophotic coral ecosystem on the Gulf of Guinea continental shelf. 
