EnchantedLearning.com Biomes - Habitats

Biomes Calendar A calendar to print, color, and read.

Coral reefs are warm, clear, shallow ocean habitats that are rich in life. The reef's massive structure is formed from coral polyps, tiny animals that live in colonies; when coral polyps die, they leave behind a hard, stony, branching structure made of limestone.

The coral provides shelter for many animals in this complex habitat, including sponges, nudibranchs, fish (like Blacktip Reef Sharks, groupers, clown fish, eels, parrotfish, snapper, and scorpion fish), jellyfish, anemones, sea stars (including the destructive Crown of Thorns), crustaceans (like crabs, shrimp, and lobsters), turtles, sea snakes, snails, and mollusks (like octopuses, nautilus, and clams). Birds also feast on coral reef animals.

Types of Corals: There are two types of coral, hard coral and soft coral. Hard corals (like brain coral and elkhorn coral) have hard, limestone skeletons which form the basis of coral reefs. Soft corals (like sea fingers and sea whips) do not build reefs.

Where are Coral Reefs?: Coral reefs develop in shallow, warm water, usually near land, and mostly in the tropics; coral prefer temperatures between 70 and 85 ° F (21 - 30 °C). There are coral reefs off the eastern coast of Africa, off the southern coast of India, in the Red Sea, and off the coasts of northeast and northwest Australia and on to Polynesia. There are also coral reefs off the coast of Florida, USA, to the Caribbean, and down to Brazil.

The Great Barrier Reef (off the coast of NE Australia) is the largest coral reef in the world. It is over 1,257 miles (2000 km) long.

Types of Reefs: The different types of reefs include:

• Fringing reefs are reefs that form along a coastline. They grow on the continental shelf in shallow water.
• Barrier reefs grow parallel to shorelines, but farther out, usually separated from the land by a deep lagoon. They are called barrier reefs because they form a barrier between the lagoon and the seas, impeding navigation.
• Coral Atolls are rings of coral that grow on top of old, sunken volcanoes in the ocean. They begin as fringe reefs surrounding a volcanic island; then, as the volcano sinks, the reef continues to grow, and eventually only the reef remains.

Coral Reef Animal Printouts:

Coral Reef Cover Page A cover page for a coral reef animal information/coloring booklet.

Angelshark A bottom-dwelling, relatively harmless shark with a flattened body and a blunt snout.

Bivalves Bivalves are soft-bodied animals that are protected by two hard shells, hinged together. Scallops, oysters and clams are bivalves.

Blowfish Also called pufferfish, globefish, and fugu, this poisonous fish can swallow water to double its size.

Blue Ring Octopus A small but very venomous octopus from warm reefs in Australia and nearby regions.

Brittle Star A bottom-dwelling marine invertebrate with long, spiny arms.

Clam Burrowing bivalves with a soft body.

Clown Fish Colorful fish that live among sea anemone.

Conch A marine invertebrate with a large, beautiful shell.

Coral Coral is a tiny marine animal that often lives in colonies. Huge colonies of hard corals form coral reefs.

Crab A crab is an animal with a shell. It has eyes on stalks on its head.

Crustaceans Crustaceans are animals with a hard exoskeleton, jointed legs, and a segmented body.

Fish Fish live in the water and breathe with gills. Many fish are found in coral reefs.

Galapagos Shark A large predator found near islands in warm water.

Gastropods Gastropods are a class of mollusks with a single (or absent) shell and a muscular foot.

Hermit Crab Hermit crabs are crabs that lack a hard shell; they use a discarded shell for protection.

Horseshoe Crab The horseshoe crab is a hard-shelled animal that lives in warm coastal waters on the sea floor.

Jellyfish Jellyfish are animals that have stinging tentacles. Or go to an unlabeled version.

John Dory John Dory is a spiny fish with a black spot on its side.

Krill Small crustaceans that are eaten by many animals, including baleen whales.

Lemon Shark Large, yellowish predators found near the surface and at intermediate depths.

Lobster A hard-shelled marine invertebrate with 10 jointed legs.

Man-of-War The Portuguese man-of-war is a floating colony of animals that has very long, stinging tentacles. It lives in warm ocean waters.

Mollusks Mollusks are soft-bodied invertebrates. Some mollusks include the octopus, squid, clam, snail, slug, and tusk shells.

Moray Eel Printout Long, snake-like fish that have circular gills.

Nurse Shark A large bottom-dwelling shark with rounded fins.

Octopus Octopuses have eight legs and live on the sea floor. Go to a simple version (just the image).

Oyster The oyster is a bivalve, a soft-bodied marine animal that is protected by two hard shells.

Pink Conch Also known as the queen conch, a marine invertebrate with a large, beautiful shell.

Plankton Plankton are tiny organisms that float in the seas and other bodies of water.

Pufferfish Also called blowfish and fugu, this poisonous fish can swallow water to double its size.

Purple Sea Urchin A spiny, globular animal that lives on the ocean floor off the western coast of North America.

Queen Conch A marine invertebrate with a large, beautiful shell.

Rays Rays are flat fish with no bones, only cartilage. Many rays live in coral reefs.

Sandtiger Shark (Sand Shark) A shark that is cannibalistic before birth.

Scallop Scallops are bivalves, shelled animals that live on the ocean floor.

Sea Anemone A predatory animal that looks like a flower and lives on the ocean floor.

Sea Cow Sea cow is another name for manatee. Sea cows are gentle, slow-swimming, aquatic mammals.

Sea Cucumber Sea cucumbers are cylinder-shaped echinoderms.

Sea Horse The sea horse is a very strange fish that lives in warm water.

Sea Star Sea stars, another name for starfish, are animals that live on the ocean floor.

Sea Turtle Sea turtles are large marine turtles.

Sea Urchin A spiny, globular animal that lives on the ocean floor.

Sharks Sharks are a type of fish that have no bones, only cartilage. Many sharks live or hunt in reefs.

Shrimp Shrimp are small, bottom-dwelling crustaceans with a translucent exoskeleton.

Snail A soft-bodied animal with a hard, protective shell.

Sponge Information Page Read about these primitive animals.

Sponge Coloring/Information Printout A printable coloring/information page about sponges.

Sponge External Anatomy: Label Me! Printout Label the external anatomy of a sponge and the flow of water through it. Answers

Sponge Internal Anatomy: Label Me! Printout Label the cross-section of a sponge and the flow of water through it. Answers

Squid The squid is a fast-swimming invertebrate with ten arms.

Starfish Sea stars, another name for starfish, are animals that live on the ocean floor.

Stingray Stingrays are flat fish with a stinger and no bones (only cartilage).

Tiger Shark Tiger Sharks are large predators who are found worldwide in warm seas, including coral atolls.

Whales Whales are marine mammals. Some whales are found near coral reefs.

Whelk Whelks are marine invertebrates with a spiral shell.

Zebra Bullhead Shark A bottom-dwelling shark with zebra-like stripes.

Zooplankton Zooplankton are tiny animals that float in the seas and other bodies of water.

An Enchanted Learning Web Page Biomes - Habitats

Arctic	Desert	Chaparral or Scrub		Taiga = Coniferous Forests	Grassland		Tropical Rainforest	Pond	Ocean
Antarctic	Tundra	Cave	City	Temperate Deciduous Forest	Savanna	Prairie	Freshwater Marsh	Swamp	Intertidal Zone	Coral Reef	Sunlit (Euphotic) Zone	Twilight (Disphotic) Zone

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