Understanding coral biology
Re: Understanding coral biology
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?
Re: Understanding coral biology
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.
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.
Re: Understanding coral biology
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.
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.