Charlie. Sydney. Jimmy. Paris. Marine Bio. Period 6AnatomyScleractinian Octocorals Scleractinian

=A-lso known as stony coral. They are either compound or solitary. Most stony coral have small polyps, about 1 to 3 mm in diameter. There are some solitary ones that can grow up to 25cm. The most common forms are Conical and horn shaped Polyps.

Octocorals Octocorals have polyp anatomy arranged radially around the mouth like wheel spokes: eight tentacles each of which is in a feather-like shape, with numerous side-branches. Also an interior digestive/circulatory chamber divided by eight partitions.

Body Type Scleractinian OctocoralsScleractinianThere are many different body types mostly all of them have a hard exoskeleton. Here is 3 examples of a Scleractinian Coral.

Known as a staghorn coral they are a type of large branchy stony coral. in a depth of 0 to 30 m.

Massive star coral is its common name. This is completely round and can move with the currents of the ocean. Also can grow very large and weigh 7 tons.

This is represents a Horn Coral. Which is one of the most popular of the Scleractinian Coral.

OctocoralsIt includes the blue coral, soft corals, sea pens, and gorgonians (sea fans and sea whips). Here are some pictures of these examples.Blue Coral

Sea Fan

DefenceScleractinian Octocorals There is not a lot of defense for Scleractinian and Octocorals. most of the defenses that are used are a stinging, or shocking sensation like from the Anemone. This not only protects the coral, but it also protects certain fish that have a coating on them that makes it so the coral thinks that the fish is part of itself.

Nutrition Scleractinian They get nutrients from algae, they capture particles such as Zooplankton, and pick up dissolved substances from the water. Zooplankton

octocoral Octocoral coral will eat pretty much anything that it can get its hands around. If it is swimming by and happens to get caught the Octocoral, will grab onto it if it sees that it is able to eat it it will.Life Cycle + ReproductionScleractinianIn asexual reproduction, scleractinians reproduce by budding. The two types of budding are intratentacular and extratentacular. In intratentacular budding, the polyps divide within the ring of tentacles of the parent. In extratentacular budding the daughter polyp develops outside the ring of tentacles.A large majority of scleractinians are hermaphroditic. In these species the usual pattern is synchronized release of eggs and sperm into the water during brief spawning events.The life cycle of a scleractinian starts with a planula larva that is free swimming, and eventually settles to form a polyp. The polyp then divides asexually, creating a colony.

OctocoralsOctocorals have an extremely diverse number of methods for asexual reproduction. This means that for populating substrate quickly, asexual reproduction is ideal. A vast majority of octocorals reproduce sexually, however. They are occasionally known to be hermaphroditic, but are usually gonochoristic. 2 methods of sexual reproduction are most common; broadcast spawning or brooding on/in the maternal colony.The life cycle of the octocoral is the same as the scleractinian.

Traits of the ClassScleractinian Scleractinia, also called stony corals, are marine corals that generate a hard skeleton. They first appeared in the Middle Triassic and descended from the tabulate and rugose corals that barely survived the end of the Permian.1. Scientific name: Scleractinia2. Higher classification: Hexacorallia3. Rank: Order4. Lower classifications: Caryophylliina

OctocoralsOctocorallia is a subclass of Anthozoa comprising around 3,000 species of water-based organisms formed of colonial polyps with 8-fold symmetry.1. Scientific name: Octocorallia2. Higher classification: Anthozoa3. Rank: Subclass4. Lower classifications: Sea pen,5. Alcyonacea