Are corals animals or plants?

Returning from vacation, many bring home souvenirs that will remind you of a sandy beach and a warm sea. Often among them you can find corals. They attract attention with their bizarre appearance, and they are specially mined for the manufacture of souvenir products. But what is coral: plants or animals?

At first glance, it might seem that corals are plants that grow in coastal areas and in shallow waters in warm seas. But in fact, corals are the skeleton of a colony of living organisms called coral polyps.

Coral polyps belong to the class of marine invertebrate animals. Many species of coral polyps live at the bottom in large colonies that form coral reefs of extraordinary beauty. The variety of coral polyps is more than 6,000 species that live mainly in warm waters, although individual specimens live in northern latitudes. Colonies of coral polyps were found in the North Atlantic, off the coast of Scotland, and even in the rather cool White Sea.

Coral polyps are propagated by budding, as well as through sexual reproduction. The resulting larvae swim for some time in the thickness as zooplankton, and then settle to the bottom, where they spend the rest of their lives. Corals, as a rule, feed on plankton, absorbing it together with sea water during the filtration process. But some species can absorb small crustaceans or even fish. The skeleton of corals can be not only calcareous, but also consist of protein compounds. And there are corals that are completely devoid of any skeleton.

All coral polyps are divided into two subclasses: six-beam (in which 6 units) and eight-beam (in which 5 units). The largest detachment is rocky corals, which includes more than 3,000 species. Representatives of this detachment are most often found among the inhabitants of coral reefs and in souvenir shops. But other units are no less interesting.

Corals are often used not only for making souvenirs, but also in jewelry. For this reason, corals are prohibited from being exported from some countries, such as Turkey, Egypt, Thailand. You can take out corals if you have a receipt proving their purchase at the store. But in all other cases of frivolous tourists, customs may be in trouble.

Watch the video: What are Corals? (May 2024).