Which coral reef system off Australia is the largest in the world and home to clownfish?

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system and a habitat for clownfish off Australia’s Queensland coast.

It is not one single reef but a vast network of thousands of individual reefs, coral cays and islands stretching for about 2,300 kilometres through the Coral Sea. Billions of tiny coral polyps build the limestone structures over time, creating sheltered lagoons, channels and reef slopes that support an extraordinary variety of marine life.

Clownfish are among its best-known residents. They live among the stinging tentacles of sea anemones, gaining protection while helping defend and clean their host. Their striking orange-and-white pattern has made them a common symbol of coral-reef ecosystems, but clownfish represent only a small part of the reef’s biodiversity.

The reef is also home to turtles, dugongs, reef sharks, sea snakes, whales and more than 1,500 fish species. It is often confused with the Coral Triangle, which is a broader Indo-Pacific region containing many reefs and exceptionally high marine diversity. The Great Barrier Reef is a specific Australian reef system, protected in large part through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.