CHAPTER 1 PALACES UNDER THE SEA An orange fish darts in and out of tunnels Rocky towers reach up around them Below them are walls and caves Together these shapes look like an underwater palace But this palace is a coral reef Coral reefs look like rock But they are alive
Reefs are made by tiny animals called corals Most corals live in colonies Each colony is made up of thousands of coral polyps Polyps have soft bodies But they make hard shells The shells protect the polyps When many corals join together a reef forms FUN FACT Coral polyps are tiny Most are small enough to fit on the tip of a pencil
Many coral polyps join together to form a colony There are many species of corals Only some build reefs Soft corals do not build reefs These corals look like plants Corals that build reefs are called stony corals
