Corals are colonial organisms made up of individual polyps, each 1–3 mm in diameter, that are connected to one another via a thin layer of tissue (Figure 2). The connection between polyps allows ...

The larva grows into a coral polyp, then a colony that matures and releases larvae that colonize other rocks. In time, it helps to create one of nature’s most spectacular ecosystems: a coral reef.

There they metamorphose, like a caterpillar to a butterfly, into a coral polyp. Those polyps clone themselves over and over again, eventually forming larger coral colonies that build reefs.

“Just when we think there is nothing left to discover on planet Earth, we find a massive coral made of nearly one billion little polyps, pulsing with life and colour,” marine ecologist Enric ...

We’ll explain everything you need to know, in a nutshell… Corals are tiny animals called a ‘polyps’, that typically live in large colonies. Similar to a sea anemone, a polyp has a squidgy body, with a ...

2009 Pachyphyllum: Most rugose corals were solitary, but a few grew in colonies. 14. #1416, 62 & 1405, species of Favosites: These specimens show the structure of a tabulate colony. Notice the ...