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Coral reefs are diverse underwater ecosystems held together by calcium carbonate structures secreted by corals.

Coral reefs are built by colonies of tiny animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients.

Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups.

The polyps belong to a group of animals known as Cnidaria, which also includes sea anemones and jellyfish.

Unlike sea anemones, corals secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons which support and protect the coral polyps.

Most reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated waters.

Amphibians are ectothermic, tetrapod vertebrates of the class Amphibia.

Modern amphibians are all Lissamphibia.

They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems.

Thus amphibians typically start out as larvae living in water, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this.

The young generally undergo metamorphosis from larva with gills to an adult air-breathing form with lungs.

Amphibians use their skin as a secondary respiratory surface and some small terrestrial salamanders and frogs lack lungs and rely entirely on their skin.

They are superficially similar to lizards but, along with mammals and birds, reptiles are amniotes and do not require water bodies in which to breed.

With their complex reproductive needs and permeable skins, amphibians are often ecological indicators; in recent decades there has been a dramatic decline in amphibian populations for many species around the globe.

Reptiles are tetrapod (four-limbed vertebrate) animals in the class Reptilia, comprising today's turtles, crocodilians, snakes, amphisbaenians, lizards, tuatara, and their extinct relatives.

The study of these traditional reptile orders, historically combined with that of modern amphibians, is called herpetology.

The domestic cat is a small, typically furry, carnivorous mammal.

They are often called house cats when kept as indoor pets or simply cats when there is no need to distinguish them from other felids and felines.

Cats are often valued by humans for companionship and for their ability to hunt vermin.

There are more than 70 cat breeds, though different associations proclaim different numbers according to their standards.

An exotic pet is a rare or unusual animal pet, or an animal kept within human households which is generally thought of as a wild species not typically kept as a pet.