Newly identified coral near Costa Rica adds a new branch to the ocean family tree

Scientists identified a deep-water coral off Costa Rica that is so distinct it prompted the establishment of a new taxonomic family.

The branching, bright yellow species lives about 1,200 to 1,700 feet down in the Pacific Ocean, underscoring how much of Earth's ecologically important habitat is still unknown.

What happened?

During surveys of seamounts near Isla del Coco and the Costa Rican Pacific margin, researchers came across the coral, according to Ocean News & Technology. The formal description appeared in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

Researchers named the species Laurinque elenya, reflecting both its unusual lineage and its appearance. In Quenya, the Elvish language created by J.R.R. Tolkien, Laurinquë means "golden tree," a nod to the colonies' bright yellow, tree-like form, while elenya means "stellar" or "of the stars," referring to the brittle stars scattered across the nearby seafloor.

Specimens were recovered during expeditions in 2019 and 2023 with the remotely operated vehicle SuBastian, deployed from the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessels Falkor and Falkor (too). In what researchers described as an almost otherworldly setting, the colonies rose from rocky outcrops and grew to 3.3 feet tall.

Why does it matter?

When scientists examined three genes commonly used to classify corals, the results did not agree: Each one pointed to a different family.

The team then used phylogenomics — comparing hundreds of genes at once — to get an answer. That work showed the coral fell outside any known family, marking it as a separate evolutionary branch and leading researchers to establish a new family name.

Deep-sea coral gardens are considered vulnerable marine ecosystems. They create complex habitat for other ocean life and support biodiversity in places humans are only beginning to understand.

Even though these coral forests exist far below the surface, they underpin marine food webs and broader ocean systems that coastal communities and economies depend on.

What's being done?

The discovery is part of a broader effort to document life on Costa Rica's seamounts, which continue to yield previously undocumented species.

Discoveries such as this give researchers and policymakers better information to safeguard places that may prove crucial to ocean health for years to come.

"In 2023, we collected more samples, and thanks to the exhaustive molecular analyses made by my colleagues, Cathy McFadden, Catalina Murillo, and Andrea Quattrini, we were able to determine the taxonomic placement of the stunning species in one of the most enigmatic sites," lead researcher Odalisca Breedy said.

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