World
Deadly invader devastating Venezuelan coral reefs

CHORONI, Venezuela: An ominous shadow in the turquoise Caribbean waters off Venezuela comes from a deadly intruder — a soft coral that experts say has caused one of the most destructive habitat invasions on record anywhere.

The Unomia stolonifera, native to Indonesia and the Indo-Pacific, is a pinkish type of pulse coral so called for its dance-like movements in the ocean currents.

Underwater view of corals threatened by the invasive coral Unomia Stolonifera (L) proliferating on coral reefs at Valle Seco beach in Choroni, Aragua state, Venezuela on April 21, 2023. - A shadow snakes across the turquoise waters of a beach in Venezuela, a sign of the explosive spread of an Indo-Pacific soft coral in Caribbean waters, considered by experts to be one of the world's deadliest marine invasions. The invader, which clings to living things, rocks, or seabeds, is believed to have been introduced illegally for commercial purposes in Mochima, a paradisiacal marine ecosystem of more than 94,000 hectares between the states of Anzoategui and Sucre (northeast). Photo by Yuri CORTEZ / AFP