any of a variety of invertebrate marine organisms of the class Anthozoa (phylum Cnidaria) that are characterized by skeletons—external or internal—of a stonelike, horny, or leathery consistency. The term coral is also applied to the skeletons of these animals, particularly to those of the stonelike corals.

Stony corals (order Madreporaria or Scleractinia) number about 1,000 species; black corals and thorny corals (Antipatharia), about 100 species; horny corals, or gorgonians (Gorgonacea), about 1,200 species; and blue corals (Coenothecalia), one living species.

Eggs and sperm, usually produced by separate individuals, develop as outgrowths in the gastrovascular cavity and are expelled through the mouth into the open water. Fertilization usually takes place in the water but sometimes occurs in the gastrovascular cavity. The larva, a ciliated form known as a planula, swims about for several days or as long as several weeks, then settles onto a solid surface and develops into a polyp. Reproduction also occurs by budding. The bud remains attached to the original polyp. A colony develops by the constant addition and growth of new buds. As new polyps develop, the old ones beneath die, but the skeletons remain.

Soft coral, horny coral, and blue coral are colonial in habit. Individual polyps have eight feathery tentacles and, in the gastrovascular cavity, eight septa, or partitions. Cilia (tiny hairlike projections) on six septa draw water into the cavity. Cilia on the other two septa expel water. The skeleton is internal. Soft corals, a widely distributed group, have internal skeletons consisting of separate calcareous (calcium-bearing) spicules (needlelike structures). Some species are platelike in form; others (e.g., dead men's fingers, Alcyonium) have fingerlike projections. Horny corals such as sea fans (sea fan) are most numerous in shallow tropical waters. They are ribbonlike or branching in form, sometimes growing to a length of 3 metres (10 feet). They include the so-called precious coral (also called red, or rose, coral) used in jewelry. A common species of precious coral, Corallium rubrum, is found in the Mediterranean Sea. Blue coral, Heliopora coerula, occurs on reefs of stony coral in the Indian and Pacific oceans. It forms lumps up to 2 metres in diameter.

The skeleton of stony coral is almost pure calcium carbonate and is deposited in a cup-shaped form with the polyp inside. The growth rate varies with age, food supply, water temperature, and species. Atolls and coral reefs are composed of stony coral. Such formations grow at an average rate of about 0.5 to 2.8 cm per year. Common types of stony coral include brain coral, mushroom coral, star coral, and staghorn coral, all named because of their appearance.

Black corals and thorny corals are whiplike, featherlike, or treelike in form or are shaped like a bottle brush. They occur in the Mediterranean Sea, in the West Indies, and off the coast of Panama.