coral
Sign in to saveCorals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.
AI overview
Corals are marine animals that live in colonies made up of many tiny identical individuals called polyps, and they belong to the same animal group as sea anemones and jellyfish. Many coral species build the colorful underwater structures called coral reefs by secreting hard skeletons made of calcium carbonate, which create habitats that support diverse ocean life in tropical waters.
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Article
44 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Systematic
- Anatomy
- Soft corals
- Stony corals
- Ecology
- Feeding
- Intracellular symbionts
- Reproduction
- Sexual
- Broadcasters
- Brooders
- Planulae
- Asexual
- Colony division
- Coral microbiomes
- Holobionts
- Reefs
- Evolution
- Early corals
- Modern corals
- Status
- Threats
- Measuring coral health
- Climate change impacts
- Geochemistry
- Strontium/calcium ratio anomaly
- Oxygen isotope anomaly
- Sea surface temperature and sea surface salinity
- Limited climate research on current species
- Protection
- Relation to humans
- Jewelry
- Medicine
- Construction
- Shoreline protection
- Local economies
- Aquaria
- Aquaculture
- Gallery
- See also
- References
- Sources
- External links
Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.
A coral "group" is a colony of very many genetically identical polyps. Each polyp is a sac-like animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter and a few centimeters in height. A set of tentacles surround a central mouth opening. Each polyp excretes an exoskeleton near the base. Over many generations, the colony thus creates a skeleton characteristic of the species which can measure up to several meters in size. Individual colonies grow by asexual reproduction of polyps. Corals also breed sexually by spawning: polyps of the same species release gametes simultaneously overnight, often around a full moon. Fertilized eggs form planulae, a mobile early form of the coral polyp which, when mature, settles to form a new colony.