Coral Reefs Living structures of interdependent marine animals in the Phylum Cnidaria. Coral may look like a colorful rock, but it is actually a living animal. Animals are categorized by similar features.
Corals belong to a group of animals that include sea anemones, jelly fish, and hydroids.
This group is known as the Phylum Cnidaria. Over thousands of years the coral colony secretes new skeletal material on top of the old, thus accumulating to form a coral reef. Corals need warm clear waters, shallow enough to capture sunlight in order to photosynthesize. In waters too deep or murky corals are generally not found. We can all help protect our fragile coral reefs by not standing on or touching them, possibly crushing its tiny polyps, and by cleaning beach trash that may find its way to our beautiful oceans.