are not plants or rocks. They are animals! They
are some of the world's smallest animals and they come in all shapes,
sizes and colors.
coral is a colony of tiny animals that are called “polyps”.
All the corals you see in Ocean wonderland 3D are in fact
made up of hundreds or thousands of these “mini-animals” or polyps.
polyp is a very simple animal, shaped like a cylinder, but with
numerous tentacles around the top. These tentacles wave about in
the open ocean and catch tiny animals and scraps of food, which
they pass into their central mouth.
have a skeleton, which they build by absorbing calcium carbonate
dissolved in the seawater. Unlike most other animals, each polyp
is fixed firmly to the ground, or to a neighboring polyp. As polyps
create more polyps, their skeletons become joined together and form
a colony, a sort of super-animal - and that’s a coral.
together, corals build a communal skeleton of limestone,
and there they sit, unmoved by waves, and unable to move themselves.
Under the right conditions, individual corals can reach tremendous
sizes. Over the centuries, skeletons grow upon skeletons, and vast
structures of limestone are formed that are visible even from space.
In fact, coral reefs are the only structures built by animals that
can be seen from the moon.
are sensitive creatures that require warm, clear waters and bright
sunlight. They can survive in waters from 64.4 to 84.2°F. Due
to their need for sunlight, they can only grow in shallow areas,
and if the water is murky the light often can’t get through.
human activities such as coastal development, deforestation, sewage,
pollution, destructive fishing practices, the souvenir trade, careless
tourism and recreational diving have seriously threatened the well
being of coral reefs.
learn more about the dangers threatening corals, please click on
know what can be done to safe corals, please click Save