More than just colourful underwater scenery, coral reefs have huge benefits for life on land. From developing treatments for cancer to protecting shorelines from tsunamis, these diverse ecosystems matter much more than we think.

We explored the wonders of coral reefs in our exhibition Coral Reefs: Secret Cities of the Sea (27 March 13 September 2015). You can still see some of our coral reefs content here: http://bit.ly/NHMCoralReefsExhibition

00:00 Intro
0:13 How long ago did corals exist?
0:30 How diverse are coral reefs?
0:54 How do coral reefs help us?


The Natural History Museum in London is home to over 80 million specimens, including meteorites, dinosaur bones and a giant squid. Our channel brings the Museum to you from what goes on behind the scenes to surprising science and stories from our scientists.

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