FUN FACTS ABOUT FASCINATING ANIMALS: Coral

[thehomeschoolkid]

Hello my name is Joshua. I am The Homeschool Kid.
Today I am going to give you fun facts about coral.

Fun Facts:

1. Coral may look like plants, but they're not! They are actually hundreds of microscopic animals called polyps that make up the coral.
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   Photo courtesy of http://ocean.si.edu/corals-and-coral-reefs

2. The coral relies on sea turtles to eat algae off of it so it can grow. Without sea turtles, algae would overgrow the coral, and it would stop growing.
   
   Photo courtesy of http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/turtle-eating.html

3. When polyps die, other polyps make coral on top of the dead ones.

4. The coral that the polyp makes is the polyp's exoskeleton. It is attached to it, but it can move in and out of the exoskeleton holes.

5. If a predator is trying to eat the polyp, it will go hide inside its exoskeleton.

6. If the polyp is hungry, it will shoot out a cord with a needle at the end so it can capture plankton.
   
   Photo courtesy of https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sps-lps-soft-corals.221137/

Stay tuned for more fun facts about fascinating animals.

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Comments

[weetreebonsai]

Thank You for sharing this information on a part of the reef we hear so much about, I did not know this so today you became the teacher! Sharing for others to learn as well..

[jeffjagoe]

Thanks for sharing! It's definitely a cool living creature. I hope the peoplf of planet Earth can come together and educate each other about the values of Coral in our ocean environment. We need to put an end to the mass destruction of the Earth's reef's!

[steemitsportsbet]

Thank you for a great post!

[themerrylotus]

I really enjoyed reading your article. It's fun to learn new things. I look forward to your upcoming posts.

[kid-coder]

did you go under the water?

[simms50]

Thanks Joshua for sharing! :-D

[hotsteam]

Thats a very good post .showing people that they must respect the see