In marine biology, describing corals or other organisms that build reefs and contain symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) for photosynthesis and nutrition.
From Greek 'herma' (a form or type) and 'typic' (typical), combining to mean 'reef-forming type'; developed in 19th-century marine biology to distinguish reef-building corals from non-reef-building species.
Hermatypic corals are secretly solar panels—they host millions of tiny algae that feed them through photosynthesis, creating the most productive ecosystems on Earth entirely through this partnership.
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