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EnchantedLearning.com
Biomes - Habitats
Biomes Calendar
A calendar to print, color, and read.
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


Coral Reef Animal Printouts

coral reefCoral 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.

Coral Reef MapWhere 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:

Coral Reefs in Danger: Many coral reefs are dying. Major threats to coral reefs are water pollution (from sewage and agricultural runoff), dredging off the coast, careless collecting of coral specimens, and sedimentation (when silt or sand from construction or mining projects muddies the waters of a reef and kills coral, which needs light to live).

Coral Reef Animal Printouts:
Cover page small
Coral Reef Cover Page

A cover page for a coral reef animal information/coloring booklet.
angelshark
Angelshark

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

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

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

Clam

Burrowing bivalves with a soft body.
clown fish

Clown Fish

Colorful fish that live among sea anemone.
conch
Conch

A marine invertebrate with a large, beautiful shell.
coral

Coral

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

Crab

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

Crustaceans

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

Fish

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

Galapagos Shark

A large predator found near islands in warm water.
snailKnobbed Whelk

Gastropods

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

Hermit Crab

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

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

Moray Eel Printout

Long, snake-like fish that have circular gills.
Nurse shark

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

Sponge Information Page

Read about these primitive animals.


Sponge Coloring/Information Printout

A printable coloring/information page about sponges.
Sponge to label

Sponge External Anatomy: Label Me! Printout

Label the external anatomy of a sponge and the flow of water through it.
Answers
Sponge to label

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 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.

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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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