Understanding coral biology

[Azuree1]

Here's a rewritten post in the same style as the user:

I've been trying to find some clarification on the basic biology of corals. It seems that in the case of the Goniopora below then each waving tentacle and flower head is a single animal polyp. I'm guessing that in the case of the Pectinia or Catalaphyllia, the white Sarcophyton is one animal/polyp per white flower spot.

I'm also thinking the Ctenactis which has one mouth but appears to have many emergent tongues - one animal or many.

A bit of education would be greatly appreciated.

[Azuree1]

Biology Question... I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this for me. I'm posting here, but I'm starting to wonder if I'm in the wrong place - is this the right forum for biology-related questions?

[depths]

Your second and flintix9t pics are actually single animal corals, whereas the others appear to be colonies, and you're correct in assuming each 'flower' is a single animal within the colony.

A general Google search for info on coral colonies should yield plenty of useful information.

I'm always learning something new about these creatures - it's fascinating stuff.

[flynix]

When you're looking at a coral, the colony itself is essentially a single individual, made up of many connected clones - kind of like the branches on a tree. Each polyp within the colony is capable of forming a whole new colony under the right conditions - similar to how some trees can regrow from a broken limb.

For corals like Pectinia and Catalaphyllia, distinguishing one polyp from another can be a bit tricky, but basically each polyp has its own mouth, so that's how you can tell them apart.

[Azuree1]

Rewritten post:

Thanks for the help with coral biology. I was wondering about the difference between a colony and a single animal. A colony is a group of individual polyps, all connected and part of the same entity. Each polyp has its own mouth, so that's what distinguishes one polyp from another. It becomes a bit trickier than other corals where one begins and the other ends, since the polyps are not as well defined as in some other corals.

I was also thinking the white Sarcophyton is one animal/polyp per white flower spot...? The one I find most intriguing is the Ctenactis which has one mouth but appears to have many emergent tongues... one animal or many..?

If you do a general google search for info about coral colonies you'll find tons of useful info. I'm always learning something new about these creatures lol