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Any of about 2,300 species of marine
The skeletons of these animals are also called coral. Corals are found in warm seas worldwide. The body is of the polyp type. Soft, horny, and blue corals are colonial in habit (i.e., they live in large groups). Stony corals, the most familiar and widely distributed forms, are both colonial and solitary. Atolls and coral reefs , which are composed of stony coral, grow at an average rate of 0.2–1.1 in. (0.5–2.8 cm) per year. See also {{link=sea fan">sea fan .
Soft coral ( Sarcophyton )
(Top) Valerie Taylor
Ardea; (bottom) Douglas Faulkner
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[c mediumvioletred] (as used in expressions)
coral reef
Coral Sea
coral snake