Page 17 - Coral Reefs

Box Jellyfish
Coral Reefs Rainforests of the Oceans Chironex fleckeri

Mollusks Photo : Deepak Apte

Mollusk means “soft”, as
mollusks do not have a skeleton.
Majority of mollusks are benthic,
though there are a few open
water swimmers as well.

Nudibranch
They have a set of reproductive organs for both
sexes, but they cannot fertilize themselves.

Giant Clam Photo : Deepak Apte Common
They are the largest bivalves on Photo : Deepak Apte Reef Squid
Earth and no two clams have the They communicate by changing the colour of
same colouration. their skin and can eject black ink to confuse their
predators.

Echinoderms
Photo : Deepak Apte
From the Greek Photo : Darryl Torckler/gettyimages
words echínos
(prickly) and
dérma (skin),
they are radially
symme trical
animals when
adults.

Sea Urchin
Recent research has shown that the Star Fish
sea urchin’s teeth are self-sharpening; It can regenerate their arms
it can chew through stone. should they loose one to a
predator.

Sea Cucumber
They help recycle nutrients, breaking down detritus
and other organic matter after which bacteria can
continue the degradation process.

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Photo : Karen Gowlett-Holmes/gettyimages