![]() Corals also breed sexually by spawning: polyps of the same species release gametes simultaneously overnight, often around a full moon. ![]() Individual colonies grow by asexual reproduction of polyps. Over many generations, the colony thus creates a skeleton characteristic of the species which can measure up to several meters in size. Each polyp excretes an exoskeleton near the base. A set of tentacles surround a central mouth opening. Each polyp is a sac-like animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter and a few centimeters in height. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.Ī coral "group" is a colony of very many genetically identical polyps. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. A coral outcrop on the Great Barrier Reef, AustraliaĬorals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. ![]()
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