Golden Tree coral discovered off Costa Rica, surf community reacts with predictable priorities

A Golden Discovery, Immediately Reframed As A Surf Question

Marine researchers off Costa Rica recently announced the discovery of an entirely new coral family, genus, and species, described as a shimmering, star strewn seafloor garden of glowing golden trees. The find, reported in detail by the diving and ocean science community, is a genuine milestone in marine biology, the kind of discovery that happens maybe once in a researcher’s career. Naturally, the first question asked by Southern California’s surfing community upon hearing the news was not about the coral’s ecological significance, but whether it produces a rideable wave.

“Is it a reef break or is this more of a deep water situation,” asked one Malibu regular, entirely seriously, upon being shown photos of the coral formation, which sits roughly five hundred meters below the surface, a depth that would require, at minimum, several pieces of very serious diving equipment and a complete disregard for one’s own eardrums.

Named In Elvish, Understood By No One

The lead researcher on the project opted to name the new genus and species using Quenya, the Elvish language created by J.R.R. Tolkien, resulting in scientific names that translate roughly to Golden Tree and Star. This has been received by the local surf community with the same mild confusion typically reserved for reading a wine list or trying to understand exactly what a “wave garden” is. “I don’t know what any of those words mean, but I respect the commitment,” said one surfer at a popular Ventura break, who then asked, unprompted, whether the coral could be “farmed for wax.”

Marine biologists have politely clarified, on multiple occasions, that the coral is not intended to be surfed, farmed, waxed, or in any way integrated into the recreational activities of Southern Californians, and that its primary significance lies in demonstrating how little of the deep ocean has actually been explored. This clarification has done very little to dampen local enthusiasm for treating a groundbreaking scientific discovery as, essentially, a very slow news day surf report.

The Deep Ocean Remains Mysterious, So Does Local Curiosity

To be fair to the surfing community, curiosity about the ocean is, in a roundabout way, the entire point of surfing, even if that curiosity is usually expressed as “how big are the waves going to be on Thursday” rather than “what previously undiscovered ecosystems might be thriving four hundred feet beneath my board.” Several local surf shops have already begun fielding questions about whether the coral discovery means new dive spots are opening up nearby, a question that betrays a slight misunderstanding of both geography and the concept of an international border.

One local surf instructor, attempting to bridge the gap between marine science and beach culture, has started incorporating a brief mention of the coral discovery into his beginner lessons, mostly as a way to get distracted nine year olds to sit still for thirty additional seconds before paddling out. “I tell them there’s a whole golden coral forest down there that nobody’s ever seen before, glowing in the dark, older than any of us,” he said. “Then one of them asks if sharks live there, and we’re back to square one.”

Science Marches On, Regardless Of Local Interest

The research team behind the discovery says they plan to continue surveying Costa Rica’s Pacific seamounts, which they describe as a genuine deep sea biodiversity hotspot likely to yield further undiscovered species in the coming years. Whether future discoveries will also receive Elvish names remains unclear, though the surfing community has already begun lobbying, unofficially and mostly as a joke, for the next one to be named after a local break. Bohiney Magazine reached out to the ocean for further comment. The ocean, as always, kept its own counsel.

SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/

An Unlikely Tourism Angle

Costa Rican tourism officials, perhaps sensing an opportunity, have reportedly fielded a handful of inquiries from adventurous divers hoping to view the new coral formation firsthand, despite the five hundred meter depth putting it well beyond the reach of recreational diving and squarely in the territory of remotely operated submersibles that cost more per hour than most people’s monthly rent. Officials have gently redirected interested parties toward the country’s considerably more accessible surf breaks instead, noting that Costa Rica offers plenty of world class waves that do not require a research vessel, a robotic submarine, or a graduate degree in marine biology to enjoy.

A Reminder Of How Little We Actually Know

Researchers involved in the discovery note that for every headline-grabbing find like this one, there are likely dozens of equally significant discoveries waiting in unexplored corners of the ocean floor, simply because so little of the deep sea has ever been surveyed at all. This detail, when relayed to the same group of curious Malibu surfers, prompted a brief and surprisingly earnest conversation about how strange it is that humans have mapped more of the moon than the bottom of their own ocean, a conversation that lasted almost four full minutes before someone changed the subject back to swell direction.

Whether or not the coral ever gets its own surf-themed nickname, researchers agree the discovery is a genuine reminder that the ocean still holds plenty of surprises well beyond the reach of any lineup.

For more mildly humorous reading, see reductress.com.