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Coral stone is one of the most exciting gemstones that are extracted from the sea along with pearl stone, and when we talk about coral stone, there are actually two main types, The first type: Inside one of the marine animals is a type of oyster and it is called coral stone and its colors vary, which are usually red, while you may find it in other colors including green and orange. While the second type: is natural coral and is represented by the material formed by the accumulation of skeletons of marine coral reefs , which you may think is rock (inanimate), but the truth is on the contrary, it is considered from Organisms belonging to a wide group of animals that can be compared with jellyfish, anemones and hydroidones. We will discuss with you in the following lines how coral stone is formed in an interesting and comprehensive way as follows.
Coral stone is a stone of organic origin extracted from under the water, widely used in the jewelry industry Because of its bright and shiny colors and attractive and elegant types, coral stone jewelry is ranked high among other organic gemstones that are distinguished by their beauty and sophistication in various parts of the world. There is no doubt that you may like and enchant coral jewelry and you may feel proud to own one but have you ever wondered how coral stone is formed?
Read the following paragraph with us to know the unique way in which this gemstone is formed.
What is coral?
In fact, the coral material consists of the skeletons of marine animals (polyps), which may look like multi-colored “inanimate” rocks, but it is not. Coral is a living organism belonging to the large group of animals that includes jellyfish and anemone Sea anemone, as we have indicated. The difference here is that coral reefs (the marine animals that make up coral) are covered with a solid layer of limestone or calcium carbonate in order to protect their clusters and branches. From the polyps, each colony forms a strong and rigid cup-like structure known as the “flower cup” whose function is protection and support. Around this structure the polyps that surround it spread, and thus grow and thicken with the passage of time with the presence of up to hundreds and thousands of polyps together forming one coral colony. (Read:
How to distinguish the original coral stone from the fake
Coral reefs in themselves are marine animals belonging to the genus of cnidarians that contain tentacles and a stinging cell. One of their vital characteristics is that they have one opening that performs two functions, allowing them to pass materials food and waste excretion. Living corals are often distinguished by their vibrant and bright colors. There are many types of corals (coral reefs), there are those that resemble large domes or tree branches or small irregular scales or small tubes. Live coral comes in beautiful shades of orange, yellow and green. It is worth noting that coral animals cannot live in cold water whose temperature is less than degrees Fahrenheit, which explains the massive spread of coral reefs in shallow and tropical seas with warm waters.
Polyps (living organism)
They are carnivores and microorganisms that live in groups in large numbers May reach millions called colonies. It belongs to the sea anemone family. It consists of a stomach and has a mouth at one end. The mouth is surrounded by a large number of tentacles or antennae that resemble feet. The word polyps actually comes from the Greek, meaning many legs and feet.
The tentacles of the polyps are completely covered with small stinging cells. So when a small animal gets close to those tentacles, it dies. Then the prey goes inside the stomach to be digested.
No The polyps move out of their limestone homes, and they go out for food most of the time at night.
How is coral stone formed from polyps
A coral colony grows from budding resulting from reproduction and division within a single coral polyp colony. She is copying herself. Where many coral polyps that form coral reefs live together in colonies that stick together, separated by a flat membrane of tissue that connects the polyp to the other in the middle. Half of the polyp extends above while the other half is below the communicating membrane. The polyps continue to create new structures and clusters at the bottom and sides. Meanwhile, it continues to spread in and out of the center of the coral colony. The polyps take calcium carbonate in seawater to make their own calcareous skeletons and then deposit calcium carbonate (limestone) around the lower half of their body. limestone structure. In the future, these structures become the base and foundation for various mounds and obstacles, which are then known as coral reefs. Polyps live on the top of those old, dead structures you made. In this way the colony continues to grow with new polyps being formed. As these new polyps grow, they make the structure larger and larger. Thus, the bulk of the skeleton of a single coral colony consists of dead polyps skeletal materials. It should be noted that live coral is characterized by the presence of a thin layer of living materials that live on its surface.
How to reproduce Polyps
multiply Polyps in one of two ways: –
The first method: to divide into two polyps.
The second method: through the production of sperm and fertilization with eggs.
Once a year, on the full moon in November, eggs and sperm are discharged on the same night. Continue to swim for a few days. Until a tiny number of eggs are fertilised, larvae develop until they settle, at which point they begin to establish a new colony. You may be aware that one polyp may produce a colony of up to 25000 polyps in three years.
(Types of Coral
The four main types of coral:
Marginal reefs that form around carrots.
Reefs close to land, such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
atolls .
, which are circles Slope and non-straight reefs rising from the bottom of a lake or inside an atoll.
Coral reefs are shallow or near-surface ocean coral groupings made up largely of animals or plants that grow through it and mostly in coral rocks. On Earth, these reefs have a history and a life cycle that spans over 899 million years. Paths and branching blocks are scattered across huge regions in these enormous coral communities.. Where it developed and formed on the structures of dead polyps over thousands of years. Reefs grow in shallow seas in the tropics and include a variety of creatures, including algae, which require light to grow correctly and near the surface of the water. Echinoderms, mollusks, protozoa, sea cucumbers, and sponges are also drawn to coral reefs. Furthermore, seaweed growth is occurring on top of certain Reefs, which may rise above sea level to form an atoll. Don’t forget to share how a coral stone is made on social media with your friends, and leave your thoughts in the comments!
