A soft coral commonly known as "dead man's fingers"; found mostly on the reef flat.

Anemone coral Goniopora with lits long delicate polyps.

Mushroom corals Fungia are free-living, unlike their counter-parts which are permanently attached on the reef.

The bubble coral Euphyllia ancora has fleshy tentacle ends which are kidney-shaped.

The feather-duster worm, Sabellastarte sp. lives in a leathery tube lodged within the coral colony. Its 'plume' consists of modified head appendages used for trapping plankton from the water

The polyps of some hard corals, like this maze coral Platygyra grow in an intricate pattern

The stick-like sea-fans "come alive" when the currents in the reef become strong. Their polyps extend the delicate tentacles to harvest the rich plankton life carried by the currents.

These brilliantly coloured cave corals Tubastraea do not possess symbiotic algae. As their name suggests, they flourish in deeper and darker areas of the reef.

The starfish is a common reef slope and sea-floor dweller.

Clownfish have a symbiotic relationship with sea anemones. While they can safely nestled in the tentacles of their hosts, other fishes are paralysed by the battery of stinging cells

Hard corals exhibit different growth forms; here carnation coral, Pectinia grows in a foliose form

A shy butterflyfish Chaetodon octofasciatus. Like other butterflyfishes, it has a modified mouth to feed on individual coral polyps.

Crabs are cryptic during the day, emerging at night from their reef crevices to hunt for food.

The striking colours of this nudibranch Phyllidia warn its potential predators of its repungent taste. Nudibranchs are omnivore foragers.

Sponges are a common sight on reefs. Many species contain compounds that are biologically active.

The tiger cowrie Cypraea tigris. It is partly covered by its mantle, a special folds of skin which secretes and maintains its characteristically mottled shell.