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| HARD CORALS :: SOFT CORALS :: TYPES OF REEFS |
| There are many types of corals. They can be hard or soft. |
| Background » Types » Hard Corals |
The reef-building corals are the hard, or stony, kind of coral, and they are found in shallow water. They are the only kind that builds reefs. They belong to the order Scleractinia and have six (or a multiple of six) tentacles on their polyps. They have an internal skeleton made up of calcium carbonate. Another word for reef-building corals is hermatypic corals.
Hard corals come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The nine common types of hard corals are: |
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Caption: Branching Coral
Photo © Chuck Savall, ICRIN
This picture shows Branching Corals. They have a lot of main branches and several secondary branches that branch off from the main branch. This purple and white branching coral was found at the Great Barrier Reef. |
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Caption: Pillar Coral
Photo Credit: Courtesy NOAA
Table Corals , as the name suggests, look like tables. They have broad horizontal surfaces. Because of this, this type of coral gets a lot of sunlight.
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Caption:
Table Coral
Photo Credit: Courtesy NOAA
Pillar Corals look like fingers sticking upward. The main difference between the branching coral and pillar coral is that the pillar corals do not have any secondary branches. This type of coral is found in the Florida Keys. |
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Caption:
Elkhorn Coral
Photo Credit: Courtesy NOAA
Elkhorn Corals have branches that look like antlers. The branches are thick and sturdy and they like to grow in areas where there is a lot of wave action.
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Caption: Foliase (Cabbage) Coral
Photo Credit: Chuck Savall, ICRIN
Foliase Corals form structures that look like flowers or petals. Small fish like to live in the folds between the whorls of these corals.
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Caption: Encrusting Coral
Photo Credit: Courtesy NOAA
Encrusting Corals spread out low like a crust on rocky surfaces. They are strong and can withstand violent storm conditions.
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Caption: Massive Coral
Photo Credit: Courtesy NOAA
Massive Corals re really huge and shaped like boulders. They can also withstand violent storm conditions like the encrusting corals.
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Caption: Mushroom Coral
Photo Credit: Courtesy NOAA
Mushroom Corals look like domes, just like the top of a mushroom. This type of coral is commonly found in the Indo-Pacific reefs. It is free-swimming and does not attach to anything.
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Caption: Brain Coral
Photo Credit: Joe Serger, ICRIN
The surface of the brain coral contains many rough ridges like a brain, and the coral animals live in the crevices between these ridges. The ridges are in pairs with a small gap between.
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Note: All photos from the ICRIN photobank
Website are available © free for non-commercial use with credit to the photographer.
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| Background » Types » Soft Corals |
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The soft corals and deep water corals do not build reefs and can live in dark, cold waters. Brain coral, staghorn coral, sea whips, and sea fans are examples of soft corals. Soft corals belong to the order Alcyonacea and the phylum Cnidaria . They have eight tentacles on their polyps. As their name states, they are soft or leathery in texture.
Although they do not build reefs, the soft corals are very important to the reef ecology. They add to the beautiful, diverse, and colorful environment of the reef. The soft corals come in bright yellow, red, orange, and purple, and several shapes. |
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Klunzinger's soft coral in Hurghada, Red Sea
Photo © Thomas Jundt, ICRIN |
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Georgian soft coral on sea fans.
Photo © Mary Lou Frost, ICRIN
The soft corals in this picture were feeding in a rather swift current. When the current is rising, they engorge their bodies with seawater to enable them to reach out into the current to feed. Taken at the Brothers Islands , Red Sea , Egypt.
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Close-up of a red and white soft coral (Siphongorgia godeffroyi) with polyps and tentacles visible, Fiji
Photo © Chuck Savall, ICRIN |
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Portrait of a reef fish, hiding inside a red and white Glomerate Tree Coral, Borneo
Photo © Jeff Dawson, Malaysia, ICRIN |
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Note: All photos from the ICRIN photobank
Website are available © free for non-commercial use with credit to the photographer.
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| HARD CORALS :: SOFT CORALS :: TYPES OF REEFS |
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