the.com/coral reefs
cities built by animals that never see the skyline they raise.
means a coral reef is a limestone structure grown from colonies of tiny animals, coral polyps, whose calcium skeletons pile up into the ocean's densest ecosystem.
from corals have built reefs for over 500 million years, but the polyp itself was misclassified as a plant or mineral until the 1700s, when naturalists finally noticed it eating.
animal, not rockeach polyp is a tiny anemone relative, alive
built on deathreefs are stacked skeletons of ancestors
powered by tenantsalgae inside coral cells provide most of its food
visible from spacethe great barrier reef is that big
for instance
great barrier reef — 2,300 km off australia, largest living structure on earth
mesoamerican reef — belize to honduras, second largest reef system
raja ampat — indonesia, highest coral species diversity ever recorded
tubbataha reef — philippines, unesco site with zero permanent inhabitants