Coral

ocean · animals · reefs

Tiny team players. Coral colonies are made of many small animals called polyps, all living together. Each one is identical, like copies working as a team.

Skeleton builders. Reef-building corals make hard skeletons out of calcium carbonate, the same stuff in chalk and seashells. Over time these stack up into huge reefs.

Warm water lovers. The most important reef-building corals live in tropical oceans where the water is warm and sunny.

Surprising relatives. Corals belong to the same group as jellyfish and sea anemones, called Cnidaria. They're animals, even though they often look like plants or rocks!