The living tissues are composed of polyps, each with a mouth surrounded by tentacles. Some species are composed of a single polyp while others are colonies of many polyps. Fertilized eggs develop within the female polyps into planula larvae. Planula larvae of most corals are not usually dispersed very far from parent colonies. In colonial species, asexual reproduction also occurs through budding of the primary polyp.
Horny corals are suspension feeders, taking their food from the water column.
Ranges from the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands to California in depths of from 200-2000 m. Forms a large colony, branching on many planes.