For the first time in ever, the ridged cactus coral has been successfully reproduced in human care.

This week, the Florida Aquarium in Tampa announced its breakthrough that will help save “America’s Great Barrier Reef,” the third-largest coral reef in the world.

“We are losing coral species faster than we can learn about them,” Keri O’Neil, senior coral scientist at the Florida Aquarium, told CNN.

“This breakthrough is just really exciting; we’re still learning basic new things you’d think we’ve known for hundreds of years. It’s just people never worked with this species before and now that we have the opportunity to work with these corals in the lab, we’re going to find out so much more about them.”

The team of scientists is now caring for the rescued adult coral colonies, and plan to eventually reproduce them in efforts of reef restoration.

Sources: CNN