What does «esqueleto de los corales» mean in Spanish?
- Many animals build their skeleton with the calcium carbonate they take from seawater. Although this process is not evident in corals, it has been observed that calcium crystals can form within a substance secreted by the coral's ectoderm. Colonial polyps often form exoskeletons of considerable size. The hard parts of various organisms whose skeletons form more or less compact rocks are often called corals; for example, coral reefs contain calcareous algae, worm tubes and sponges as well as corals. The belief that coral is built cell by cell by a laborious coralligenous insect in the way bees build their honeycombs is unfounded.