Definition
corallites
noun
- plural of corallite; the individual skeletal units or cups of a coral colony, each typically housing a single polyp.
Usage: technical; zoology; paleontology
Examples
- The fossil showed hundreds of tiny corallites arranged in a branching pattern.
- Marine biologists examined the corallites under a microscope to identify the coral species.
- Each corallite in the colony contains a polyp that extends and retracts.
- The structure and spacing of corallites help paleontologists classify extinct coral species.
- Living corallites secrete calcium carbonate to build the reef structure.