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A parrot fish feeding on the reef.
© Dan Wagner |
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The "Rain Forests of the Sea"
Often compared to rain forests because of their beauty and complexity, coral reefs support an even more astonishing variety of life. Reefs house a greater diversity of body forms, chemistry, and animal phyla--thirty-two compared to the eight that inhabit the most biodiverse ecosystems on land. (Phyla comprise the second largest category of living things, after kingdoms.)
Coral reefs are one of the oldest types of living systems on earth, and certainly one of the most spectacular. They are massive underwater structures formed by the limestone skeletons of tiny invertebrate animals.
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