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A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. [1] Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Coral belongs to the class Anthozoa in the animal phylum Cnidaria, which includes sea anemones and ...
Pavona clavus is a cream, yellow, brown, or pale grey coral typically forming columnar or club-shaped colonies, though it may also form flattened plates. [3] [4] The columns are generally smooth and uniform in size, typically measuring up to 20 cm (7.9 in) tall and 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) in diameter. [3] They are capable of dividing but not ...
Colony shape may occasionally be flat-topped discs, particularly when younger. As a type of brain coral , the surface of the skeleton is a network of winding, curving valleys and ridges (or walls) that roughly resemble the familiar folding architecture of the mammal cerebrum .
The "mega" coral is 112-feet wide, 105-feet long and 18-feet high, making it larger than a blue whale, the world's largest animal.
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.
The coral reef on the north side of the island includes colonies more than 2 metres (6.6 ft) high. The 2018 Tara Pacific expedition located five colonies of Millepora platyphylla at depths of 28–32 metres (92–105 ft), the first of this fire coral species known in the region. [90]
Coral reefs thrive in nutrient-poor waters on high-energy shorelines that are agitated by waves. They are underwater ecosystem made up of colonies of tiny animals called coral polyps. These polyps secrete hard calcium carbonate skeletons that builds up over time, creating complex and diverse underwater structures. These structures function as ...
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