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Coral

Corals are colonial marine invertebrates belonging to the subphylum Anthozoa within the phylum Cnidaria, forming colonies of genetically identical polyps. They play a crucial role in reef building by secreting calcium carbonate to create hard skeletons, which can grow significantly over generations. Corals reproduce both asexually and sexually, with spawning events typically occurring around a full moon.

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12 views1 page

Coral

Corals are colonial marine invertebrates belonging to the subphylum Anthozoa within the phylum Cnidaria, forming colonies of genetically identical polyps. They play a crucial role in reef building by secreting calcium carbonate to create hard skeletons, which can grow significantly over generations. Corals reproduce both asexually and sexually, with spawning events typically occurring around a full moon.

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surname4128
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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A coral outcrop on the

Great Barrier Reef,


Australia
Scientific
classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Subphylum Anthozoa
Ehrenberg,
: 1834
Subdivisions
 Octocorallia
o Helioporacea
o Alcyonacea
 Hexacorallia

o Scleractinia
o Antipatharia
o †Rugosa
o †Tabulata

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

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