Corallivore
Sign in to savethumb|Yellow longnose butterflyfish browsing on coral polyps
~29 min read
Article
15 sectionsContents
- History
- Types
- Feeding strategies
- Mucus feeders
- Browsers
- Scrapers
- Excavators
- Bioeroders
- In nature
- Fish
- Invertebrates
- Impacts on ecosystem
- Known corallivores
- See also
- References
thumb|Yellow longnose butterflyfish browsing on coral polyps
A corallivore is a carnivorous animal that feeds on coral. Corallivores are an important group of reef organism because they can influence coral abundance, distribution, and community structure. Corallivores feed on coral using a variety of unique adaptations and strategies. Known corallivores include certain mollusks, annelids, fish, crustaceans, flatworms and echinoderms. The first recorded evidence of corallivory was presented by Charles Darwin in 1842 during his voyage on HMS Beagle in which he found coral in the stomach of two Scarus parrotfish.
Available in 7 languages
via Wikidata sitelinks · CC0