What are Corals?

Corals are animals. An individual coral's body, called a polyp, is mostly stomach, with a mouth on top. Its mouth is ringed with tentacles - but these just aren't any tentacles, they're lined with stinging cells, some filled with venom (neurotoxins) that paralyze their prey. To learn more, check out our online coral reef ecology curriculum: http://www.lof.org/education/portal/course/coral-anatomy/