Massive brain coral

Symmetrical brain coral is one of the longest-lived corals on Caribbean reefs, with large colonies reaching centuries in age. They are slow-growing but structurally resilient, often surviving bleaching events that kill faster-growing branching corals. At Scientists' Corner, colonies over two metres across have been tagged and monitored since 2003, with annual growth measurements now constituting one of the longest unbroken coral growth records in Honduras. Their labyrinthine surface pattern — the grooves formed by rows of polyps — is distinctive at any depth. Brain corals are considered 'anchor species' whose persistence through disturbance events stabilises the reef framework for recovering neighbours.