Hard corals
The seas of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, contain the most diverse coral ecosystem in the world and the hard coral colonies of the Malaysian reefs thus exhibit a great variety of shapes and colours. Hard corals (Scleractinia) belong to the phylum Cnidaria, which also includes soft corals, jellyfish, anemones and sea pens. Hard corals are the dominant builders, their skeletons forming the foundation of reefs. However, some deep-dwelling Scleractinia do not build reefs.
- Information in the full article includes
- Location
- Diversity
- A symbiotic relationship
