A coral reef is a habitat that has many different kinds of animals and plants in it. This is called diversity. The coral itself may look like rock but it is actually animal. Coral is the most common animal found on the coral reef. Coral starts as a small floating polyp that attaches to the reef. Here they stay anchored their whole lives. They cannot chase prey, but have tentacles that sting and capture prey. Their tentacles are also sticky so they can also snag food particles as they float by.
Other reef animals include: sea urchins, sponges, sea stars, worms, sea slug, fish, sharks, rays, lobsters, shrimp, octopus, snails, jellyfish, clams, sea turtles, sea anemones, and fish.
