Ball's Pyramid is a miracle of nature lost in the ocean (8 photos + 1 video)

This impressive sea spire is home to a fascinating and very rare insect and is part of the lost continent of Zealandia.





Ball's Pyramid, the remains of a huge volcano, rises 560 meters from the Tasman Sea in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the remaining above-ground remnants of the once lost sunken continent of Zealandia. Ball's Pyramid is located about 23 kilometers east of Lord Howe Island.



It rises above the water, is about 800 meters long and 300 meters across, making it the highest volcanic island on the planet. It can be seen from the Gower Track on Lord Howe Island.





Discovered in 1788 by Royal Navy Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball, the rock spire was named after him. It was considered virtually devoid of animal life until 2001, when a group of scientists found what may be the rarest insect on the planet.



The Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis) has not been seen alive for more than 70 years. Known as "tree lobsters" or "walking sausages," the 15-centimeter-long insects were once common on neighboring Lord Howe Island. But they were thought to have been eaten by black rats introduced to the island when a supply ship ran aground off its coast in 1918.



Tree Lobster

In 2001, researchers discovered a colony of giant stick insects from Lord Howe Island, nesting under a single bush. Somehow, several wingless individuals managed to escape, using methods still unknown, overcoming more than 20 kilometers of distance over the ocean, landing on Ball's Pyramid and settling there. Only 27 individuals were found on the spire. Now, the amazing insects are bred in captivity.