coral animal

1 definition found

coral animal - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Coral \Cor"al\, n. [Of. coral, F, corail, L. corallum, coralium,
     fr. Gr. kora`llion.]
     1. (Zool.) The hard parts or skeleton of various Anthozoa,
        and of a few Hydrozoa. Similar structures are also formed
        by some Bryozoa.
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     Note: The large stony corals forming coral reefs belong to
           various genera of Madreporaria, and to the hydroid
           genus, Millepora. The red coral, used in jewelry, is
           the stony axis of the stem of a gorgonian (Corallium rubrum
           ) found chiefly in the Mediterranean. The fan corals
           , plume corals, and sea feathers are species
           of Gorgoniacea, in which the axis is horny.
           Organ-pipe coral is formed by the genus Tubipora, an
           Alcyonarian, and black coral is in part the axis of
           species of the genus Antipathes. See Anthozoa,
           Madrepora.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The ovaries of a cooked lobster; -- so called from their
        color.
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     3. A piece of coral, usually fitted with small bells and
        other appurtenances, used by children as a plaything.
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     Brain coral, or Brain stone coral. See under Brain.
  
     Chain coral. See under Chain.
  
     Coral animal (Zool.), one of the polyps by which corals are
        formed. They are often very erroneously called coral  insects
        .
  
     Coral fish. See in the Vocabulary.
  
     Coral reefs (Phys. Geog.), reefs, often of great extent,
        made up chiefly of fragments of corals, coral sands, and
        the solid limestone resulting from their consolidation.
        They are classed as fringing reefs, when they border the
        land; barrier reefs, when separated from the shore by a
        broad belt of water; atolls, when they constitute
        separate islands, usually inclosing a lagoon. See Atoll.
        
  
     Coral root (Bot.), a genus (Corallorhiza) of orchideous
        plants, of a yellowish or brownish red color, parasitic on
        roots of other plants, and having curious jointed or
        knotted roots not unlike some kinds of coral. See Illust.
        under Coralloid.
  
     Coral snake. (Zo)
        (a) A small, venomous, Brazilian snake (Elaps  corallinus)
            , coral-red, with black bands.
        (b) A small, harmless, South American snake (Tortrix  scytale
            ).
  
     Coral tree (Bot.), a tropical, leguminous plant, of several
        species, with showy, scarlet blossoms and coral-red seeds.
        The best known is Erythrina Corallodendron.
  
     Coral wood, a hard, red cabinet wood. --McElrath.
        [1913 Webster]