Black coral found by diver off Taiwan  

台湾绿岛外海发现珍稀黑珊瑚 台湾首见

The photo of black coral is taken by Ming-Sheng Lin 104 meters below the sea surface near Green Island off the east coast of Taiwan.

(ECNS) – A diving instructor in Taiwan has filmed rare coral in the open sea near Green Island off the east coast of Taiwan, and it was identified by experts as black coral, according to the local United Daily News.

The diver, Ming-Sheng Lin, said he saw the coral while descending to a depth of 104 meters.

Lin shot a 14-second video of the coral and put it on the Internet, which has been praised as amazing.

Ming-Shiou Jeng, a researcher at Taiwan's Academia Sinica, verified that the coral belonged to the black coral family.

Black coral has about 250 known species. Without a sample, the coral species couldn't be identified, Jeng added.

Jeng also said black coral is found 50 meters below the sea surface, and all species have been under the protection of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Black coral takes its name from the black or dark brown color of its skeletons, as even its tissue is colored. And there's no symbiotic algae in the coral, which helps it survive without nutrients or sunlight.