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One of the main differences between plants and animals is that plants make their own food, whereas animals must eat plants or other animals (although there are a few exceptions). They use tentacle-like structures to gather food from the surrounding water. The "branches" of a coral and actually individual animals, called polyps. Amazingly, these polyps actually release the coral's eggs into the water. When baby coral first hatches, resembles a tiny jellyfish (jellyfish are surprisingly in the same phylum as jellyfish: cnidaria), and floats aimlessly until it lands on a rock or seabed. Once it has landed, it creates a protective shell that keeps it anchored in place. Soon, polyps begin to emerge, and the process begins again.

This site will give you more detailed info on why coral is considered an animal:

http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/coral/coral1.htm

hope this helped!

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16y ago

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