This document provides descriptions of various animals found on ocean reefs, including hammer coral, anemonefish, bicolor anthias, blacktip reef shark, brain coral, carpet anemone, convict tang, dwarf seahorse, epaulette shark, giant clam, longsnout seahorse, parrotfish, pharaoh cuttlefish, pyramid butterflyfish, and zebra shark. It describes their physical characteristics and behaviors. The animals serve important roles in the reef ecosystem and many have interesting adaptations for survival in the reef environment.

1. Ocean reef
By Sae

2. ocean reef animals
 hammer coral
 Anemonefish
 Bicolor anthias
 Blacktip reef shark
 Brain coral
 Carpet anemone
 Convict tang
 Dwarf seahorse
 Epaulette shark
 Giant clam
 Longsnout seahorse
 Parrotfish
 Pharaoh cuttlefish
 Pyramid butterflyfish

3. This animal’s name comes
from the hammer- or anchor-
shaped tips of its tentacles.
An anchor coral colony may
look peaceful, but it packs a
powerful punch. Special
“sweeper” tentacles—up to
several inches long—reach
out to inject poison into
neighbor colonies that try to
take over its turf—a good
strategy in a crowded coral
reef.

4. Anemone fish, also called
clownfish, live nestled among
the tentacles of stinging
anemones. Scientists have
found that these fish have a
special layer of mucus that
keeps the anemones from
stinging them.

5. Anthias make up a sizeable
portion of the population of
pink, orange and yellow
fishes seen swarming in
most coral reef photography
and film. The anthias are
members of the family
Serranidae
(basses, basslets, groupers)
and make up the subfamily
Anthiinae.

6. Blacktip reef sharks patrol
their territories in coral
lagoons and around the
edges of reefs. They often
swim in water shallow
enough that their
triangular, black-tipped
top fin sticks out above the
surface, presenting a classic
image of sharks as
portrayed in movies and
cartoons.

7. These corals get their
common name from the
grooves and channels on
their surfaces that look like
the folds of the human brain.
There's more than one kind
of "brain coral"—several
species from two different
families of corals share the
name—but all help build
coral reefs.

8. Carpet Anemone
These anemones may live 100
years or more.
A single large anemone may
host several kinds of
anemonefishes.

9. This striking fish gets its
name from its vertical
black stripes, which
resemble a prisoner’s
uniform. The convict tang
also belongs to the family
of surgeonfishes, owing to
dangerously sharp blades
by its tailfi.

10. This is one of the smallest seahorse
species, at just under one inch long.
They are commonly found in sea
grass beds off the Florida Keys, the
Bahamas, Bermuda and the Gulf of
Mexico. Dwarf seahorse pairs take
their time getting to know each
other before they mate. As part of
their mating ritual, a female will
swim into the male’s territory, and
the pair performs elaborate
courtship dances each morning for
several days until they eventually
hook tails and swim up in the water
column to mate.

11. Because plants in tide pools don’t
produce oxygen at night, creatures that
live there use up all or most of the
oxygen during the night. Epaulette
sharks caught in tide pools by the
receding tide can turn off enough body
functions to survive several hours with
little or no oxygen. Researchers are
working to discover how the shark
manages with so little oxygen—the
answer might help in the treatment of
stroke patients or during heart
surgeries.

12. As their name implies, giant clams
are the largest clams in the world.
The largest grow more than four feet
(1.2 m) long.
Once a giant clam settles into a place
and begins to grow, it stays
permanently attached to that spot for
life.

13. They are found in
coral reefs and sea
grass beds and
occasionally in the
midwater of the
Atlantic from
North Carolina to
Florida, and from
the Caribbean
down to Brazil.
Males can carry
broods of up to
1,000 young in their
pouches, with
larger males
carrying even more
young.

14. Generally brightly colored, about
60 species of parrotfishes swim in
coral reefs around the world. They
have fused teeth that form
beaklike plates, giving them a
parrotlike appearance. They have
large thick scales that, in some
species, are strong enough to stop
a spear.

15. The Pharaoh Cuttlefish is a
large cuttlefish species, growing
to 42 cm in mantle length and
5 kg in weight. When raised in
the laboratory, the maximum
recorded size for males is
16.2 cm, and for females 15.5 cm.

16. The Butterflyfish can grow up to
18cm in length. The Pyramid
Butterflyfish is usually seen in
depths between 3 m and 60 m in
outer reef areas close to drop-offs.
It often forms large shoals
containing hundreds of individuals
all swimming high in the water
column feeding on plankton.

17. Long and sleek, zebra sharks
can wriggle into reef crevices
and caves to hunt for their
favorite food. Barbels (fleshy
feelers) on their snouts help
them search for their prey.
Zebra sharks hunt at night; in
the daytime they usually rest
quietly on the
bottom, “standing” on their
pectoral (side) fins.