June. 2000 
27 
In deeper waier. there are 
soft corals with delicate 
branching shapes and bright 
colours. Soft coral polyps have 
eight fringed tentacles Sea 
anemones and stony corals have 
many narrow tentacles, usually 
in multiples of six. 
Organ-pipe and precious 
coral 
When the polyps of stony corals 
die. their stony homes become 
white in colour. There are a few 
corals, however, which make coloured 
structures 
Organ-pipe coral i Tubipora 
musica) is related to the soft corals. 
Its large polyps are brown in colour, 
with eight feathery tentacles. A mass 
of living organ-pipe seems covered 
w ith thick brown fur If you touch the 
Organ-pipe coral 
polyps, they draw back into their 
■homes”. 
F.ach polyp lives in a tube, like the 
pipes of an organ. The tubes are dark 
red in colour, and are connected by 
horizontal plates. You may find pieces 
of dark red organ-pipe coral washed 
up on the beach. 
Soft coral 
Precious coral lives in the 
Mediterranean Sea. Its polyps 
build a central core of pink or 
red limestone. When the polyps 
die. the precious coral is 
collected and sold for making 
jewelry. 
STONY CORALS 
The whole length of the Kenya 
coast is lined by a coral reef. 
The reef is a solid wall, broken 
only where rivers and creeks 
enter the sea. At low tide the 
waves crash on the reef, making 
a booming sound. 
In some places the shore 
slopes directly to th** reef. In 
