coral
Coral is not a creature, but is made up of countless polyps and their bones. The charm of coral is that it constitutes the most complex and lively ecosystem of the oceans - coral reefs.
Red coral
Red corals are known for their dark red, fiery red body color, resembling small leafless shrubs, in the form of dendritic branches, up to 1 meter tall.
Red corals are beautiful, but also fragile. Now, red corals are listed as protected animals at the national level.
madrepore
The skeleton of stony corals is the main component of coral reefs, which are known as "reef-building corals".
The accumulation of stony coral skeletons can even gradually push the coast into the sea, forming large islands such as the famous Great Barrier Reef.
Green bubble coral
Clusters of green bubble corals tend to be green or blue, like bubbles.
Green bubble corals generally symbiosis with zooxanthellae , and the photosynthesis of zooxanthellae provides it with most of the nutrients.
Purple lateral apercuss coral
Purple lateral corals are mostly purple, orange, yellow and red, mostly under 25 cm, and grow in transverse flakes.
Purple lateral corals usually grow on rocks or crevices at a depth of 3 m and are mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean.
Rosa corals
Rosa filamentosa is mainly distributed in the Indian, Pacific and Red Seas.
Morphologically, rose corals are like mushrooms growing in the sea, with red, green, orange and other colors.
Antler corals
Named for its resemblance to antlers, the antler coral prefers a turbulent environment and can grow at depths of 0.5-20 meters.
Staghorn corals are distributed in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, Sea of Japan, East and South China Seas of China, and the central Pacific Ocean.
expand
Corals and polyps
Beautiful and colorful corals decorate the seabed as a garden, and the real builders of this "underwater garden" are corals. Corals secrete shells and pile them together, accumulating over time to form coral reefs and coral islands.
Dressed up with these magical and beautiful creatures, the underwater world looks so colorful!
Follow Dr. Shark, the next issue will take you to know shellfish with shells