Grade 7 · Science
How Coral Reefs Are Built
A coral reef can look like a garden of colorful rocks, but it is really a city built by animals. The builders are coral polyps, soft-bodied creatures related to jellyfish, and most are no bigger than a pencil eraser. Each polyp is shaped like a tiny tube with a mouth at the top, ringed by tentacles that can sting and catch drifting bits of food. By day, many polyps pull their tentacles in, and at night they stretch them out to feed.
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