Corals are small animals (polyps) that are closely related to sea anemones and jellyfish.
Most corals create colonies, by growing a large rocky skeleton that we see as a solid coral rock. The soft bodied polyps live in the outer edge of this skeleton, on top of the empty skeletons of previous generations. Only the outer layer of a coral boulder is alive.
The skeleton made by the polyps is white (calcium carbonate). Corals get their wide range of colours from single-cells plants (symbiotic algae called Zooxanthellae) living in the skin of the corals.
Corals of the World, Vol. 1, 2, 3 (in Slip Cover)
For more Butterflyfish information:
A Guide to Angelfishes and Butterflyfishes
Author: Gerald R Allen, Roger Steene, Mark Allen.
ISBN 0-9661720-1-9
Reef Fish Identification – Tropical Pacific
Author: Gerald Allen, Roger Steene, Paul Human
ISBN: 978-1878348364
Reef Fishes of the World
Authors: ieske and Myers,
ISBN: 978-0691089959
Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific
Author: Terrence M. Gosliner, David W. Behrens
ISBN: 978-0930118211
Marine Life of Fiji and Tonga: A Video Identification Guide
Josh Jensen and Liz Harlin
More Butterflyfish Info
