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Coral Polyp Design The basic unit of a coral is the coral polyp. Coral polyps consist of a sac-like gut or body cavity enclosed by a mouth and surrounded by a ring of tentacles. The tissue of a polyp is made of two distinct layers, the ectodermis (ecto-outer, derm-skin) and endodermis (endo-inner, derm-skin). Corals are mostly found within two subclasses of the class Anthozoa. The Hexacorallia have tentacles in multiples of 6 and the Octocorallia have tentacles in multiples of 8. For this activity we’re going to make our own coral polyps and colonies out of Play-Doh. -Using the diagrams make two polyps, one from a Hexacoral and another from an Octocoral containing the following parts: an endodermis and ectodermis a body cavity an oral disk/mouth tentacles zooxanthellae Coral Skeletal Structure Observe the different coral skeletons using the dissecting microscope. Using the diagram 4-1 from your book, how many different growth forms do you see with the different skeletons? Examine 3 different coral specimens and record their features in table 4-1. How are the cup features of the coral specimens different? Which coral cup parts are lacking in a solitary coral like Fungia? How does a colonial coral grow? Which species would probably break during a storm? What skeletal features make one coral more fragile than another? Material developed for the University of Hawaii-Manoa GK-12 program (NSF grant #05385500). Website: www.hawaii.edu/gk-12/evolution. Duplication for educational purposes only.