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The mutually beneficial relationship between algae and modern corals - which provides algae with shelter, gives coral reefs their colors and supplies both organisms with nutrients - began more than 210 million years ago, according to a new study. The study found strong evidence of this coral-algae relationship in fossilized coral skeletons dating back more than 210 million years to the late Triassic period, a time when the first dinosaurs appeared and Earth's continents were a single land mass known as Pangea. [Source: Princeton University]
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