Coral Fossils

Coral fossils allow us to follow the earth’s history and understand what really happened all those years before man was created. Corals are part of a group of animals called Cnidaria. Cnidaria includes animals such as sea anemones, jellyfish, and hydras. These animals have tentacles or multiple arms that allow them to grab food floating around them. These corals have stinging tentacles. Scientists study many cnidarian fossils because there is an abundance of fossil records. These cnidarian fossils are soft-bodied corals and originate over 600 million years old. These fossils were first found in South Australia, but now been found in other places around the world. All of these fossils date back to the same age. * Cnidaria coral fossil found in Australia …show more content…
Corals come in different textures such as, soft and fleshy to horny and stony. The soft and fleshy corals are not capable of being preserved. We know this because we have not found any traces of these corals. Corals are considered an animal made of calcium carbonate. They are found in main reef barriers and in oceans throughout the world. *Tentacles allow the coral to grab food floating around it.

Corals are found in sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks are formed by deposition of material on the earth’s surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentary rocks are usually layers at the bottom of lakes and oceans. It includes minerals and small pieces of plants. When the coral dies, it can be broken down to form limestone, which we use in building buildings. From finding these fossils we know that fossil corals are over 510 million years old. *Sedimentary coral fossil in black