Corals | Anthozoa
The way Corals grow on the ocean floor makes us think of them as plants, but they are invertebrates. These colorful creatures are under the class Anthozoa and depend on one another and prefer warm shallow waters or cold ocean floors. They live and grow together, forming large colonial colonies called coral polyps. These polyps are cylindrical with a mouth at the end and a series of tentacles surrounding them, which is for stinging creatures or gathering food. Corals have a clear body. However, the beautiful coloration we see on them comes from the various algae growing in their tissues. They feed on small organisms, zooplankton, and small fish and can reproduce sexually or asexually.
Most corals have a symbiotic relationship with algae living in their tissues. These algae provide them with the right nourishment or energy that they generate from the sun. Still, others feed on small fish, plankton, and even cetaceans by stinging and capturing them with their long tentacles. Most corals feed at night.
Anthozoa can reproduce sexually or asexually. Asexual reproduction can be transverse, pedal laceration, longitudinal fission, or autotomy of tentacles. Members of this group release sperm and eggs into the water. When the egg is fertilized, it transforms into a larva, and then the last stage, which is polyps.
Anthozoa has soft body tissues. To protect these soft tissues, it secretes a hard and tall nonliving substance. Algae love this substance as it offers them protection and components for photosynthesis. The algae are what gives the Anthozoa its color, which can be pink, yellow, red, and many more.
