Coral

Coral

Taxonomy

Phylum: Cnidaria

Class: Anthozoa

Diagnostic features

Radial or biradial symmetry

External skeleton

Septa

Tabulae

Stratigraphic range

Ordovician to present

Tabulate, rugose: Ordovician to Permian (extinct at P/T extinction)

Scleractinian: Triassic to present

Way of life

Colonial or solitary

Filter feeding

Reef builders

Advanced notes

Remember, although the most well-known modern corals enjoy a symbiotic relationship with photosynthesising algae (Zooxanthellea) many modern corals do not. When thinking about Palaeozoic corals do not assume that they lived as well known corals do now.

Corals built their skeletons out of aragonite (Ordovician to Permian) or calcite (Triassic to recent). They are often preserved as moulds, casts, intact or replaced.

Specimens

Browse corals

External links

Paleosoc coral info