There are no people in the world who would not be fascinated by the variety of coral polyps. These benthic organisms belonging to the class of marine invertebrates, representatives of the Cnidaria type, can grow both singly and in colonies.

Coral life

Each branch of coral is a cluster of small polyps called a colony. Each such organism forms a calcareous shell around itself, which serves as its protection. When a new polyp is born, it attaches to the surface of the previous one and begins to form a new shell. This is how the gradual growth of coral occurs, which, under favorable conditions, is about 1 cm per year. Large concentrations of such marine organisms form coral reefs.

Class coral polyps includes the following organisms:

1. Having a calcareous skeleton. They are involved in the process of reef formation.

2. Possessing a protein skeleton. These include black corals and gorgonians.

3. Deprived of any solid skeleton (anemones).

Experts identify about 6 thousand different types of coral polyps. The name Anthozoa is Latin for "flower animal". Coral polyps have a very picturesque appearance. They are distinguished by a variety of shades. Their movable tentacles resemble flower petals. The largest single polyps grow up to 1 m in height. Often their diameter is about 50-60 cm.

Habitat

Numerous representatives of coral polyps inhabit almost all the waters of the oceans. But at the same time, most of them are concentrated in warm tropical seas. They thrive at temperatures as low as 20°C. Coral polyps live at depths up to 20 m. This is due to the fact that plankton and small animals that feed on these organisms live in this water column.

Feeding method

Coral polyps are usually daytime shrink, and with the onset of darkness, they extend their tentacles, with which they catch prey swimming past them. Small polyps feed on plankton, while large ones are able to digest medium-sized animals. Most often, single large polyps consume fish and shrimp. Among this class of organisms there are also representatives that exist due to symbiosis with unicellular algae(autotrophic protozoa).

Structure

Coral polyps, whose structure differs somewhat depending on their species, have muscle cells. They form the transverse and longitudinal muscles of the body. Polyps have nervous system, which is a dense plexus in the region of the oral disc of these organisms. Their skeleton can be internal, formed in the mesoglea, or external, which is formed by the ectoderm. Most often, a polyp occupies a cup-shaped depression on the coral, which stands out prominently on its surface. As a rule, the shape of polyps is columnar. At their top, a kind of disk is often placed, from which the tentacles of this organism depart. Polyps are fixed motionless on the skeleton common to the colony. All of them are interconnected by a living membrane covering the entire coral skeleton. In some species, all polyps are interconnected by tubes penetrating limestone.

The coral polyp skeleton is secreted by the outer epithelium. Most of all, it is distinguished by the base (sole) of this marine "structure". Through this process, living individuals develop on the surface of the coral, while the coral itself continues to grow. Most octagonal coral polyps have a poorly developed skeleton. It is replaced by the so-called hydroskeleton, which exists due to the filling of the gastric cavity with water.

The body wall of the polyp consists of ectoderm (outer layer) and endoderm (inner layer). Between them there is a layer of structureless mesoglea. The ectoderm contains stinging cells called cnidoblasts. Structure different types coral polyps may be slightly different. For example, sea anemones are cylindrical in shape. Its height is 4-5 cm, and its thickness is 2-3 cm. This cylinder consists of a trunk (column), a lower part (legs) and an upper part. The anemone is crowned with a disk on which the mouth (peristome) is located, and in its center there is an elongated slit.

Around it are located groups of tentacles. They form several circles. The first and second have 6, the third - 12, the fourth - 24, the fifth - 48 tentacles. After 1 and 2, each subsequent circle has them 2 times larger than the previous one. Sea anemones can take the most different forms(flower, tomato, fern). The pharynx leads to a gastric cavity separated by radial septa called septa. They are lateral folds of the endoderm, consisting of two layers. Between them is the mesoglea with muscle cells.

The septa form the stomach of the polyp. From above, they grow with a free edge to his throat. The edges of the septa are corrugated, they are thickened and seated with digestive and stinging cells. They are called mesenteric filaments, and their free ends are acontions. Digestion of food by a polyp is carried out with the help of enzymes secreted by it.

reproduction

Reproduction of coral polyps is carried out in a special way. Their number is constantly increasing due to asexual reproduction called budding. Some types of polyps reproduce sexually. Many species of these organisms are dioecious. Male spermatozoa enter the gastric cavity through gaps in the walls of the gonads and exit. Then they enter the oral cavity of the female. Next, fertilization of the eggs occurs, and they develop for some time in the mesoglea of ​​the septa.

In the process of embryonic development, tiny larvae are obtained that swim freely in the water. Over time, they settle to the bottom and become the founders of new colonies or single polyps.

Corals as reef builders

A huge number of marine polyps are involved in the formation of reefs. Corals are most often referred to as the skeletal remains of polyp colonies, which remained after the death of many of these small organisms. Their death is often provoked by an increase in the content of organic matter in water and bottom sediments. Microbes are the catalyst for this process. An environment rich in organic matter is an excellent place for the active development of pathogenic microorganisms, as a result of which the acidity of water and the oxygen content in it decrease. Such a "cocktail" has a detrimental effect on solitary and colonial coral polyps.

Subclasses of polyps

Specialists distinguish 2 subclasses of polyps, which include different orders of these marine organisms:

1. Eight-beam(Octocorallia), which include soft (Alcyonaria) and horn (Gorgonaria) corals. They also include sea feathers (Pennatularia), stolonifera (Stolonifera), blue polyp Helioporacea. They have eight mesentery, an internal spicule skeleton, and feathery tentacles.

2. Six-beam(Hexacorallia), among which are Corallimorpharia, sea anemones (Actiniaria), ceriantharia (Ceriantharia), zoantaria (Zoanthidea), madrepore (Scleractinia) and black corals (Antipatharia).

Application in everyday life

Some coral polyps are successfully grown by aquarists in artificial conditions. The calcareous skeleton of some species of these marine organisms is used to make jewelry. In some countries that have not yet banned the extraction of coral polyps, their remains are used to build houses and other structures. They are also used as decor in homes and gardens.

These truly amazing inhabitants of our planet inhabit the waters of the oceans. They chose the seabed as their "home". What are we talking about? About corals!

Many will say: how can animals be so similar to plants, and in general - are corals really animals? As it is not surprising, but - yes, corals are precisely animal organisms, albeit not similar to the usual representatives of the terrestrial fauna.

The correct name for these creatures is coral polyps, in total there are about 5,000 species of them in the world. The variety of shapes and colors of these animals is simply amazing, just look at these patterned plexuses, it's just amazingly beautiful!

But let's look at corals from the point of view of a scientific approach, since they are animals, they must eat, breathe, move, reproduce ... let's try to find out how they do it.

The structure of these bottom organisms is quite primitive. The body of corals is a cylindrical formation, at the end of which there are numerous tentacles. In the scientific classification, the class of coral polyps is divided into two subclasses: six-pointed corals and eight-pointed corals.

Hiding among the tentacles of a coral polyp oral cavity. The digestive system in these animals is represented by the "mouth", pharynx and blind intestinal cavity. It is in the “intestine” of the polyp that there are special cilia, thanks to which the life process of the whole organism is carried out.

These very cilia create D.C. water in the cavity of the polyp, and with water the animal receives oxygen for breathing, nutrients(the smallest living organisms, small fish ok and plankton), and also throws waste products back into environment. As you can see, there are no special respiratory, sensory or excretory organs in coral polyps. But what about the ability to move?

Coral polyps can make movements, but not too actively, as far as the structure of the skeleton allows them. These animals can only slightly bend their body, as well as move their tentacles.

Sex cells in corals do not mature in separate organs, but directly in the body cavity. As you can see, the device of these animals is quite simple, however, this does not prevent them from leading a full life on seabed.

Coral polyps (if we consider a separate organism) are tiny creatures. One polyp grows in length from a few millimeters to one to two centimeters.

But a colony of polyps is already a rather large formation, visible to our eyes, forming a kind of “bush” growing on the bottom soil. The only exception is, perhaps, only a representative of madrepore corals, their body reaches a diameter of up to half a meter.

The skeleton of corals is internal (formed by a special protein) and external (from above it is enveloped by calcium carbonate secreted from the body of the polyp).

If we talk about a colony of coral polyps, then there is a so-called hydroskeleton - this is the water contained in the body cavity of all the "inhabitants of the colony". Through the joint efforts of the cilia of all members of the colony, water constantly circulates through the "common body", thus supporting not only the vital activity, but also the shape of the coral polyps.

Most often, corals inhabit warm zones. ocean waters, but there are also individual species for which the cold is not terrible. Such cold-resistant polyps include gersemia. For normal life, coral polyps need only salty water if even the slightest desalination occurs in the habitat, this is already fatal for the polyp.

Most of all, these animals love to live in clear and clean water. The depth of dwelling is generally small. Corals prefer good light, which is scarce at great depths. But some species climb to great depths (for example, batipates lives at a level of 8000 meters from the surface of the water!).

Coral polyps grow very slowly average speed: 1 to 3 centimeters per year. Hundreds and even thousands of years pass before reefs and even entire coral islands, known as atolls, form at the bottom of the sea. By the way, more recently, scientists were, whose age is 4000 years! This is a real long-liver of our planet, researchers have never met another similar organism.

To reproduce, coral polyps use two methods: vegetative and sexual. In the first case, a “daughter” buds from the parent individual, eventually turning into an independent organism. Sexual reproduction occurs in a certain season and only ... on a full moon. And there is no mysticism in this, but only physics clean water, after all, during the full moon, the strongest tides occur in the oceans, which means that the chances for the spread of germ cells are much greater.

Corals are valuable organisms, and not only because they are used to make expensive jewelry and decor items. Coral colonies form entire ecosystems in which many marine animals live and breed.

The most famous "coral giant" in the world is the formation off the coast of Australia, called the Great barrier reef, its length is 2500 kilometers!

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Class Coral polyps (Anthozoa)

Coral polyps are marine colonial, rarely solitary polyps that develop without generational change. They mainly live in warm tropical seas, where the water temperature is not lower than 20 ° C, and at depths of no more than 20 m, in conditions of abundant plankton, which they feed on. In total, about 6 thousand species of coral polyps are known. Many of them have a calcareous skeleton and are reef-forming.

Coral polyps, despite the general similarity of the structure with hydroids, differ from the latter in the following features:

The sizes of coral polyps are larger and they have a highly developed mesoglea,

Most species are well developed skeleton(horny or calcareous). The skeleton may be external, formed by the ectoderm, or internal, formed in the mesoglea;

- gonads formed in the endoderm. Reproduction is asexual and sexual. development with metamorphosis. Larva - planula. There is no alternation of generations;

Available muscle cells, forming longitudinal and transverse muscles;

- nervous system forms a dense plexus on the oral disc;

The ray symmetry is broken and there is a transition to two-beam, or bilateral, symmetry.

Rice. 96. The structure of a six-rayed coral polyp (according to Pfurgsheller): 1 - tentacles, 2 - mouth, 3 - pharynx, 4 - septa, 5 - plantar plate, 6 - calyx, 7 - scleroseptae, 8 - polyp tissues

Rice. 97. Formation of the internal skeleton in eight-ray polyps (according to Hadorn): 1 - tentacles, 2 - skeletal needles at the base of the tentacles, 3 - stomach with septa, where eggs ripen, 4 - skeletal cords, 5 - mesoglea, gastric canal in the trunk of the colony, surrounded by a skeleton, 6 - the trunk of the colony

There are two subclasses of modern coral polyps: Octocorallia and Hexacorallia, between which there are significant differences in organization. Therefore, in characterizing the morphology and physiology of coral polyps, it is more convenient to give a comparative outline of the organization of Octocorallia and Hexacorallia.

Comparative morphophysiological characteristics of 6- and 8-ray coral polyps. The body of polyps is cylindrical. Single polyps are attached to the substrate with their soles, and colonial colonies to the body are attached to the coenosarca. On the oral pole of the polyp there is a mouth, always surrounded by hollow tentacles (Fig. 96). By the number of tentacles, it is easy to distinguish subclasses of coral polyps: 8-rayed ones always have eight tentacles and they are pinnate, with lateral outgrowths, while 6-rayed tentacles are smooth and their number is a multiple of six (Fig. 96, 97).

The gastric cavity is complex. The mouth leads into a unidirectionally flattened pharynx with a folded ectodermal lining. Octocorallia at one end of the pharyngeal fissure has siphonoglyph- groove lined with ciliated epithelium. Hexacorallia has two siphonoglyphs - in both corners of the pharyngeal fissure. Siphonoglyphs ensure the flow of water through the gastric cavity. The slit-like pharynx and the presence of 1-2 siphonoglyphs violate the radial symmetry of the polyps, and therefore, in 8-ray polyps, only one, and in 6-ray polyps, only two planes of symmetry can be drawn. The pharynx leads to the gastric cavity, which is subdivided

Rice. 98. Transverse sections through the eight-beam and six-beam polyps (A - according to Hickson, B - according to Hyman): 1 - pharynx, 2 - pharyngeal cavity, 3 - siphonoglyph, 4 - ventral guiding chamber, 5 - septum, 6 - muscular roller of the septum, 7 - dorsal guiding chamber, 8 - internal chambers between septa of the first order, 9 - internal chambers between secondary septa, 10 - intermediate chambers, 11 - ectoderm, 12 - endoderm, mesogley blackened

radial partitions - septa. Septa are lateral folds of the endoderm, each fold respectively consisting of two layers of endoderm, between which there is a mesoglea with muscle cells. The septa adhere to the pharynx with a free edge, and do not close below the pharynx, forming the stomach. The edges of the septa are thickened, corrugated, seated with stinging and digestive cells, forming mesenteric filaments. Their free ends are called acontions. The prey that enters the stomach of the polyp is tightly wrapped with mesenteric filaments, killed and gradually digested under the influence of digestive enzymes. The presence of septa increases the digestive surface in polyps. The number of septa and their location are different in the two subclasses (Fig. 98).

Octocorallia has eight septa with muscular ridges. Pairs of septa extending from two corners of the flattened pharynx are called guiding chambers. The guiding chamber opposite the single siphonoglyph differs in that the muscular ridges in its septa are turned inward. This chamber is conditionally called "ventral". On the septa of the opposite "dorsal" chamber, the ridges face outwards from the chamber. Thus, the location of the muscular ridges in the septa of Octocorallia also breaks the radial symmetry.

Hexacoralha has many septa, at least 12, and their number is a multiple of six. The muscle ridges in the guiding chambers are turned outward and do not violate the two-beam symmetry determined by the shape of the pharynx and two

siphonoglyphs. Septa in 6-beam polyps form gradually. Initially, there are six pairs of first-order septa that adhere to the pharynx. Between the septa of each pair, the main chambers are formed, and between them - intermediate ones, in which additional pairs of second-order septa are formed, etc. (Fig. 98).

The nutrition of coral polyps is varied. Many feed on plankton or catch small animals with their tentacles. Large single polyps - Anemones (Actinia) are able to catch large animals: fish, shrimp. Well, in Lately it turned out that some species of coral polyps live due to symbiosis with unicellular algae that live in their mesoglea.

For coral polyps, leading mainly an attached lifestyle, the presence of a skeleton is characteristic, which is formed differently in different subclasses.

In 8-ray polyps, the skeleton is internal and is formed in the mesoglea, it can be horny or calcareous. Skeletal elements (Fig. 99) are formed in scleroblast cells. The skeletal needles may fuse with each other or be joined by the horny substance to form the skeleton of the colony. For example, in the noble coral (Corallium rubrum), the skeletal trunk of the colony is calcareous, purple in color. From above, the branch of the colony is covered with ectoderm. The internal skeleton is permeated with a network of endodermal channels connecting all members of the colony (Fig. 97).

In 6-beam polyps, the skeleton is external, secreted by the ectoderm, less often internal or absent. The growth of the outer skeleton around a young polyp comes from the sole area, where the plantar plate first appears, and calcareous septa - sclerosepts - form on it, and then a calyx is formed - the theca, which protects the entire polyp to the level of the tentacles. The skeleton is often overgrown with folds of skin from above and gives the impression of being internal.

There are polyps without a skeleton, such as sea anemones. In many 8-ray polyps, the skeleton is poorly developed and is replaced by a hydroskeleton - the turgor of the colony, provided by the filling of the gastric cavity with water.

Reproduction and development. Polyps can reproduce asexually: by budding, division in the transverse and longitudinal directions.

Before sexual reproduction, gonads mature on septa in the endoderm. Polyps are usually dioecious. Sperm through ruptures in the wall of the gonads go into the gastric cavity, and then out and penetrate through the mouth into the cavity of the female. Fertilized eggs develop for some time in the mesoglea of ​​the septum. Planula larvae usually leave the parent polyp, and then settle on a solid substrate and turn into polyps (Fig. 100, 5). In many coral polyps, development proceeds without metamorphosis and the planula larva does not form.

Overview of subclasses and orders of coral polyps. In total, five subclasses of coral polyps are known, of which three subclasses are known only in the fossil state (Tabulata, Rugosa, Heliolitoidea). Two subclasses are represented modern forms(Octocorallia and Nexocoratha) (Fig. 101, 102).

Subclass Eight-pointed corals (Octocorallia)

Eight-pointed corals have eight tentacles, eight septa, and an internal skeleton. There is a violation of radial symmetry to bilateral due to the presence of one siphonoglyph and the location of muscular ridges in the septa (Fig. 98 A).

Detachment Alcyonaria (Alcyonaria)- the most numerous, including about 1300 species of marine polyps. Most of them are soft corals, without a developed skeleton, with separate spicules scattered in the mesoglea. They form colonies various forms: branched, lobed, spherical. Alcyonaria colonies - "hands" (Fig. 103) can serve as an example of soft corals. Only some species of the genus Tubipora, an organ, have a developed calcareous skeleton, which forms tubules in the mesoglea, welded together by transverse plates. Their skeleton is vaguely shaped like an organ, hence their name. Organs form large spherical colonies and participate in reef formation. Corals of the genus Versemia fruticosa are common in the White Sea. Alcyonaria often form dense thickets on rocky soils.

Order Horn corals (Gorgonacea) make up polyps with an internal horny skeleton. It is also a species-rich order (1200 species), found mainly in tropical areas, but some of them have adapted to living in polar regions. Fan-shaped colonies form polyps of the genus Gorgonia, called the fan of Venus.

Rice. 101. Eight-pointed corals (according to Dogel): A - Alcyonaria Gersemia, B - Pennatula sea pen, C - Leptogorgia horn coral

Among the gorgonians are commercial red corals (Corallium rubrum) and species close to it, mined in the Mediterranean, Red and other seas. Their organic skeleton is impregnated with lime and has various shades of red. Valuable jewelry is made from red coral.

Order Sea feathers (Pennatulacea). Sea feathers form colonies of a feather-like form: with a thick trunk, on which polyps are located on the sides in regular rows. The number of species is small (300). Some species are common in Arctic Ocean, and among them there are the largest colonies up to 2.5 m high (Umbrella encrinus). Pennatula colonies are capable of glowing. Sea feathers, unlike other coral polyps, do not adhere to the substrate. They anchor in the ground, and sometimes swim from place to place.

Subclass Six-pointed corals (Hexacorallia)

Six-pointed corals have many smooth tentacles, the number of which is a multiple of six. The gastrovascular cavity is divided by a complex system of septa, the number of which is also a multiple of six. Six-beam symmetry is broken to two-beam due to two siphonoglyphs and the slit-like shape of the pharynx. Often the skeleton is external, calcareous, rarely absent. There are five orders of six-ray corals.

Squad of anemones (Actinaria) includes mainly large forms single polyps, devoid of a skeleton. Anemones are able to move slowly on the sole. These are active predators, sometimes even eating small fish. They are often brightly colored and are called sea ​​anemones. Some anemones are in symbiosis with hermit crabs, which serve them for movement, and anemones with stinging properties protect hermits from enemies (Fig. 104).

Order of Ceriantharia (Ceriantharia)- solitary burrowing polyps with strong muscles and no skeleton.

Detachment of Zoantaria (Zoantharia)- solitary and colonial polyps with underdeveloped muscle cells.

Detachment Antipatharia (Antipatharia) form pinnate colonies with an axial horny skeleton. This includes commercial black coral, from the skeleton of which various artistic products are made: pipes, cane handles, knives.

Order Madrepore corals (Madreporaria)- the most extensive and includes more than 2500 species. This includes both solitary and colonial polyps. All madreporaceae are characterized by the presence of a powerful calcareous skeleton. This group of corals are the main reef builders. These include medulla (Leptoria) in the form of hemispheres with bizarre furrows, mushroom corals (Fungia), etc.

Coral reefs and their origin. Mass settlements of coral polyps with a calcareous skeleton form reefs. The reef consists mainly of madreporous polyps, but six-ray corals are also partially involved, as well as other animals with a skeleton: sponges, bryozoans, mollusks, etc.

Coral reefs are peculiar ecosystems characterized by a special composition of autotrophic and heterotrophic organisms that are interconnected food chains and other forms of interspecies relations. The population of coral reefs is so large and diverse that they are called marine "oases". These are reserves of marine fauna and flora, they deserve human protection.

Reef-building coral polyps are distributed only in the tropical regions of the World Ocean, as they need normal oceanic salinity (at least 35% ppm), high and constant temperature water (at least 20°C). In addition, corals are sensitive to light and water saturation with oxygen and, therefore, are found in shallow water and usually do not go to a depth of more than 50 m. The dependence of the distribution of corals on light is determined by their symbiosis with unicellular algae - symbiodiniums, or zooxanthellae, inhabiting the cells of the endoderm of polyps. The mutual benefit of their coexistence is as follows. Algae receive protection from corals and carbon dioxide (respiratory products) for photosynthesis, as well as some deficient in sea ​​water nitrogen and phosphorus compounds from polyp dissimilation products. Coral polyps, in turn, receive oxygen from algae, which is necessary for respiration, as well as for activating the processes of skeleton formation. In addition, polyps partially feed on algae, but not in the way previously thought - by digesting them in the cytoplasm, but through the direct use of photosynthesis products coming directly from algae cells. Symbiosis is also based on the pace of life cycles of these species. Like all protozoa, zooxanthellae have a diurnal rhythm of reproduction, while corals exist for a long time. dying

algae are digested in the cytoplasm of the polyp. Thus, this system is based on a waste-free process. At the same time, the dependence of coral polyps on zooxanthellae is especially great, without which they die.

Reefs are coastal, barrier and atolls - ring-shaped coral islands. For the first time, the hypothesis about the origin of coral reefs was proposed by Charles Darwin (1836). He applied the method of historical geology of secular land fluctuations to explain the formation of coral islands. In his opinion, all types of reefs were formed as a result of land subsidence (Fig. 105). If the island, surrounded by a coastal reef, gradually sinks, its shores recede from the reef, which completes itself to the surface of the ocean and turns into a barrier reef. When the island is completely submerged, a ring remains from the former barrier reef, i.e., a coral island- an atoll, which is then gradually populated by plants and animals. There are many other hypotheses about the origin various types reefs, however, the hypothesis of Ch. Darwin remains the most reasoned and has stood the test of time. At present, this hypothesis is supplemented by new scientific data. It is assumed that the change in the level of the land depends not only on its subsidence, but also on changes in the level of the ocean during periods of glaciation or melting of ice caps near the poles. From the dying coral reefs, immersed in the ocean, sedimentary rocks arose - coral limestones. In the Paleozoic, these rocks were formed by subclasses of corals Rugosa and Tabulata, and starting from the Mesozoic, mainly by madrepore polyps.

Description

Coral polyps live in warm tropical seas, where the water temperature is not lower than 20 ° C, and at depths of no more than 20 meters, in conditions of abundant plankton, which they feed on. Usually during the day the polyps shrink, and at night they stretch out and straighten their tentacles, with the help of which they catch various small animals. Large single polyps - sea anemones ( Actinia) - are able to catch relatively large animals: fish, shrimp. Some species of coral polyps live by symbiosis with unicellular algae that live in their mesoglea.

There are muscle cells that form longitudinal and transverse muscles. There is a nervous system that forms a dense plexus on the oral disc.

Subclasses

Notes

see also

Links

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See what "Coral polyp" is in other dictionaries:

- (Greek). In medicine: a fibrous growth or tumor in the genus of a wart on the mucous membranes of the human body: in the nose, straight. intestine, in the cervix. Dictionary foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. POLYP in medicine ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

POLYP, polyp, husband. (Greek polypus, lit. centipede). 1. Name of sedentary individuals of intestinal animals. Coral polyp (zool.). 2. Tumor, painful outgrowth on the mucous membranes (med.). Polyp in the nose. Dictionary Ushakov. D.N.… … Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

This term has other meanings, see Polyp. Single coral polyp Ceriantharia with two corollas of tentacles Polyps or polypoid generation (... Wikipedia

Polyp ambiguous term: Polyp stage in life cycle cnidarians (Cnidaria). Polyps in medicine are hyperplastic outgrowths of human tissues, for example, in the ear, nose, uterus. See also Coral polyp ... Wikipedia

POLYP, a, husband. 1. Marine immobile animal. Coral item 2. Painful formation (growth) from the epithelium of the mucous membrane. Polyps in the nose. | adj. polyp, oh, oh. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

A; m. [from Greek. polypus many-legged] 1. An intestinal-cavity animal, attached at one end to an immovable object and equipped with a mouth opening at the opposite end. Freshwater, coral p. 2. Benign tumor of the mucous membranes ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

polyp- A; m. (from the Greek polýpus many-legged) see also. polyp 1) An intestinal-cavity animal, attached at one end to an immovable object and equipped with a mouth opening at the opposite end. Freshwater, coral poly/p. 2)… … Dictionary of many expressions

Polyps (coelenterates)- Coral polyp from the Red Sea. POLYPS (from the Greek polypus, literally many-legged), sessile (attached) individuals of some intestinal animals; solitary (hydras, sea anemones) or colonial (coral polyps). Coral polyps... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Coral polyp; see the Madrepora article ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

A, m. 1. An intestinal-cavity animal, attached at one end to an immovable object and equipped with a mouth opening at the opposite end. freshwater polyp. Coral polyp. 2. Benign tumor of the mucous membranes. Polyps... ... Small Academic Dictionary

beauty underwater world, its splendor and diversity always amaze nature lovers who go to see marine life. At the heart of this diversity are very unusual inhabitants.

Introducing Interesting Facts about corals

Corals have the most extraordinary color range, which shimmers beautifully in the ocean depths.

In total, there are more than 6 thousand such underwater inhabitants and this is one of the richest varieties of coelenterates.

Corals are quite picky

So, for their growth, they need full-fledged conditions: sufficient salinity of water, transparency, warmth and a lot of food. That is why coral reefs live in the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

It is interesting that in the World Ocean the territory of coral reefs has about 27 million square meters. km.

The Great Barrier Reef is considered one of the the greatest creatures these underwater growths. It extends near Australia.

Lime reserves due to coral reefs are almost inexhaustible

Some areas of such reefs are so large that they can rightfully be called coral islands.

Coral islands have their own life and vegetation. Here you can even find cacti and tall shrubs.

The local population uses corals to make jewelry.

It turns out very beautiful and iridescent products for the summer season.

Corals are also used as building material, polishing of metal surfaces and the production of medicines.

If a person is damaged by the coral barrier, then the skin will heal for a very long time. Even suppuration may appear at the site of the wound, regardless of whether the coral is poisonous or not.

Corals have special cages designed to protect themselves.

They are called stinging and release poison at the moment of danger.

The Hindus had a belief that only men should wear red corals, and only women should wear white corals. It was believed that these colors are a kind of symbolism of one and the other sex, and in the case of "wrong wear" each of them acquired the character traits of the opposite. How true this is is unknown.

Today, few men wear coral products. Well, women allow themselves any color scheme, including red. Apparently, it is because of this that emancipation flourishes in our country.

You will find other interesting facts about corals on the Internet.