Corals Flashcards
What is the phylum and class for corals
Cnidaria
Anthozoa
What do they all have
Stunning cells called nematoblasts
When did they evolve
Cambrian
What is the soft body called
Polyp
What is its skeleton made out of
Calcium carbonate
What is the whole skeleton called
Corallum
What are the types of corals
Solitary
Compound
What is the Calice
Bowl shaped depression where the soft polyp sits
What is the columella
Rod that supports the septa
What is the epitheca
Outer most layer of the skeleton
What is the tabula
Horizontal plates dividing the coralita skeleton
What is the corallite
The skeleton produced by one coral polyp
What are the growth lines
Wrinkles produced as the coral grows
What are dissepiments
Curved plates connected to septa and tabulae
What are the septa
Vertical plates dividing the corallite skeleton
What are the tree main orders of corals
Rugose
Tabulate
Scleractinia
Are rugose corals extinct and are they solitary or colonial
Yes
Both
The epitheca is what (Rugose)
Wrinkled
How big are the corallites and do they have mural pores (Rugose)
Large
No
What kind of symmetry do they have (Rugose)
Bilateral
Geological range (Rugose)
Ordovician to Permian
Are tabulate corals extinct
Yes
Solitary or colonial (Tabulate)
Always colonial
How developed is their tabulae (Tabulate)
Well developed
How big are the corallites and are mural pores present (Tabulate)
Small
Maybe present
What kind of symmetry do they show (Tabulate)
Radial symmetry
How well is the development the septa (Tabulate)
Poor or absent
Are dissepiments present (Tabulate)
May have dissepiments
Do they have a collumela (Tabulate)
No
Geological range (Tabulate)
Cambrian to Permian
Are Scleractinian Corals extinct
No
Are the solitary or colonial (Scleractinian)
Both
Do they have mural pores (Scleractinian)
No mural pores between the colonial forms
What kind of symmetry do they have (Scleractinian)
Radial symmetry knows as hexagonal symmetry
What do they always have (Scleractinian)
Tabulae
What is evenly developed (Scleractinian)
Secondary septa
Geological range (Scleractinian)
Triassic to Now
What is the mode of life for corals
Sessile
Symbiotic relationship between the algae (Zooxanthellae) in which the coral provides protection and the algae provides a food source
What feature do the soft bodied polyps have
Tentacles
What is the purpose of tentacles
To feed
What are the ideal conditions for growth
At or just below sea level Clear waters High-energy levels Stable salinity Between 23 and 27degrees C
Where are they found in the world
30 degrees north and south from the equator
What are the types of reef
Fringing reefs
Barrier reef
Atolls
