[inlink]terry,353[/inlink]
I can't believe that you are even questioning this without fully understanding the situation. You definitely do not have nay background in biology and are starting to "classify" things based on phenotype (patterns they physically express instead) of their genotype (genetic makeup which defines their relationships to others). Note, this is the same kind of biology the nazis used to classify the jews as separate animals. And that relying on genetic relationships can work. Just as by looking at a kid you cannot determine his parents, you can determine them more absolutely using genetic testing.
Corals Polyps are animals, just like anemones:
ANIMALS:. They have locomotive ability (without growth requirement), no chloroplasts, no cell wall, heterotrophic (eat others).
PLANTS: Not locomotive (without growth), have chloroplasts, autotrophic.
Baby coral polyps are not like seeds, they don't just float but rather have their own locomotive ability, just like anemones they can move on whim. The reason for the misunderstanding with coral using photosynthesis, is that tiny algae live in their colonies which they get energy from. It is similar to the symbiotic relationship we have with e. coli in our intestines, yet no one would argue that having bacteria help us digest food makes a bacteria, right?
Can one of you biology freaks back me up?
PS terry the tree isn't even a colony. It is an actual full scale multi-organed animal. Just look up anthozoa
(GOOGLE - anthozoa) And one last thing, the coral reefs of today did develop until the time of the dinosaurs so they are not some sort of pro-animal, but rather just an evolution of one.