{"id":40078,"date":"2024-09-06T18:37:28","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T16:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bc367543-ea8d-4f03-8459-2f76c2da5003"},"modified":"2024-09-06T19:26:40","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T17:26:40","slug":"does-the-uk-have-any-coral-reefs","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/does-the-uk-have-any-coral-reefs\/","title":{"rendered":"Does the UK have any coral reefs?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coral reefs don’t just belong in the tropics, says Helen Scales <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Friday, 06 September 2024 at 16:37 PM<\/p>

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Coral reefs are certainly not confined to the shallow, sunny waters of the tropics. More than half of around 5,000 known species of corals live in cold and deep waters. <\/strong><\/p>

Where are the coral reefs in the UK?<\/h2>

The main reef-forming coral in UK waters is a bushy, white species, Lophelia pertusa<\/em>, or Desmophyllum pertusa <\/em>as some scientists prefer to call it.<\/p>

Mostly located off the west coast of Scotland, Lophelia <\/em>reefs are found from around 150m deep and are very slow growing. <\/p>