Not a fact anymore
A coral reef is a solid mass of living coral.
What we know now
Only a thin outer layer of a coral colony is living tissue. Reef frameworks contain accumulated calcium-carbonate skeletons, dead coral, sediments, algae, sponges, microbes, and many other organisms.
Why it changed
The visible reef surface is colorful and alive, making the whole structure seem like one living mass. Drilling, cores, anatomy, and ecology revealed layered skeletons and sediments beneath the living veneer.
- Status
- Corrected
- Category
- Ocean Science
- Accepted for
- ≈42 years
- Accepted approximately
- Common early natural-history and public model
- Changed approximately
- 19th–20th centuries