Corals

Corals have thrived in the sea since for more than 450 million years but some of the earlier types may not actually have been directly related to modern corals. These first appeared about 225 million years ago. The animal itself is like a sea anemone that builds a tube of limestone around itself. Corals may be solitary or live in large groups, sometimes forming reefs. In Ireland they are especially common in the Carboniferous Limestone, about 340 million years old.

Siphonophyllia	Siphonodendron	Michelinia	Lithostrotion	Syringopora	Trococyathus