flora & Fauna

Soft corals are made of colonies of polyps, just as hard corals are, but the difference is that soft corals do not have a limestone skeleton and therefore do not have the supporting "backbone" to remain upright.  Instead the supporting tissue is spongey and diverse in shape.  When the polyps of a soft coral are fully extended it can drastically alter the shape of the coral compared to when the polyps are retracted.  This can make recognition very difficult.