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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 ...
Coral jewellery has been found in ancient Egyptian and prehistoric European burials, [3] and continues to be made to the present day. It was especially popular during the Victorian age. [5] Precious coral has hardness 3.5 on the Mohs scale. [6] Due to its softness and opacity, coral is usually cut en cabochon, or used to make beads. [7]
Unlike corals which can be found in shallow waters, these precious corals can be found in greater depths of 60 to 2,000 meters (200 to 6,560 feet). [9] Most species can be found in large numbers around the west and central Pacific, including the surrounding seas of New Caledonia, Taiwan, Japan and the Hawaiian Archipelago. Species diversity of ...
Using measuring tape, scientists found that the coral colony spans about 111 feet wide, 104 feet long and 18 feet high — large enough to fit two full-size basketball courts side by side and ...
Deep-water coral Paragorgia arborea and a Coryphaenoides fish at a depth of 1,255 m (4,117 ft) on the Davidson Seamount. The habitat of deep-water corals, also known as cold-water corals, extends to deeper, darker parts of the oceans than tropical corals, ranging from near the surface to the abyss, beyond 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) where water temperatures may be as cold as 4 °C (39 °F).
Coral reefs are some of the most biodiverse habitats on earth, supporting large numbers of species of corals, fish, molluscs, worms, arthropods, starfish, sea urchins, other invertebrates and algae. Because of the photosynthetic requirements of the corals, they are found in shallow waters, and many of these fringe land masses. [24]
Porites is a genus of stony coral; they are small polyp stony (SPS) corals. (Also referred to as finger coral or hump coral) They are characterised by a finger-like morphology . Members of this genus have widely spaced calices , a well-developed wall reticulum and are bilaterally symmetrical .
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