Coral Sand

Coral sand

Coral sand is a form of aragonite sand particles originating in tropical and sub-tropical marine environments primarily from bioerosion of limestone skeletal material of marine organisms. Often, this is due to corallivores, such as parrotfish, which excrete sand after digestion. However, the term "coral" in coral sand is used loosely in this sense to mean limestone of recent biological origin; corals are not the dominant contributors of sand particles to most such deposits. Rather, coral sand is a mix of coral and/or remnant skeletal fragments of foraminifera, calcareous algae, molluscs, and crustaceans. Because it is composed of limestone, coral sand is acid-soluble.

Coral

Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.

Sand

Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of soil or soil type; i.e., a soil containing more than 85 percent sand-sized particles by mass.

Coral (color)

The various tones of the color coral are orange, red and pink representations of the colors of those cnidarians known as precious corals.

coral

Noun

1. Any of many species of marine invertebrates in the class Anthozoa, most of which build hard calcium carbonate skeletons and form colonies, or a colony belonging to one of those species.
2. A hard substance made of the skeletons of these organisms.

Adjective

1. Made of coral.
2. Having the orange-pink color of coral.

sand

Noun

1. Rock that is ground more finely than gravel, but is not as fine as silt (more formally, see grain sizes chart), forming beaches and deserts and also used in construction.

Adjective

1. Of a light beige colour, like that of typical sand.