1 February 2016

Around the world in 80 animals - Coral



A few days ago the 15-16 Clipper Race passed through the Coral Sea at the start of Race 7 in Leg 5 and it got me thinking - coral might look like they're just pretty rocks, but actually they are incredibly sensitive and delicate animals. I can't wait to encounter them when I'm down under!

Coral fast facts

Type: Invertebrate
Diet: Carnivore (While corals get most of their nutrients from the byproducts of the algae's photosynthesis, they also have barbed, venomous tentacles they can stick out, usually at night, to grab zooplankton and even small fish)
Average life span in the wild: Polyp, 2 years to hundreds of years; colony, 5 years to several centuries
Size: Polyp, 0.25 to 12 in (0.63 to 30.5 cm)
Group name: Colony
Protection status:  Endangered
Size relative to a tea cup:









Did you know? Coral polyps are tiny, soft-bodied organisms related to sea anemones and jellyfish. At their base is a hard, protective limestone skeleton called a calicle, which forms the structure of coral reefs

Did you know? Coral polyps are actually translucent animals. Reefs get their wild hues from the billions of colorful zooxanthellae algae they host

Did you know? Corals are so sensitive to climatic change that scientists study coral reef fossils to construct highly detailed chronologies of prehistoric climate patterns



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