Phylum
Ceolenterata:
Cnidaria
from a Greek word
“cnidos” meaning
stinging thread.
Phylum Cnidaria
from a Greek word “cnidos” meaning stinging thread
• Cnidaria is a phylum under Animalia Kingdom, a classification
comprising 10,000 described species, some of them are corals,
sea anemones, jellyfishes and hydras.
• These aquatic entities are seen in both marine and freshwater
habitats.
• These are the simplest living entities, having true tissues.
• Formerly, Cnidarians were classified with Ctenophores in the
phylum Coelenterata. However, with an increasing awareness of
its differences, they were placed in a separate phyla.
• Cnidarians are radially
symmetrical, soft-bodied animals
found in aquatic habitats. Their
common names are sea
anemones, jellyfish, corals and
hydras. Some other cnidarians
include Portuguese men-of-war,
sea fans, sea pens and sea whips.
• Four examples of cnidaria:
• A jellyfish Chrysaora melanaster
• A gorgonian Annella mollis
• A stony coral Acropora
cervicornis
• A sea anemone Nemanthus
annamensis
Characteristics of Cnidarians
• There are two different forms of cnidarians
– Polyp and medusa. Polyp is hydroid
form, sessile with mouth-up orientation.
The medusa is bell or umbrella shaped
with mouth down alignment
• Body wall comprises an outer epithelium
referred to as epidermis and inner
epithelium referred to as gastrodermis.
There is a gelatinous mesoglea found
between the inner and outer epidermis
• Mesoglea comprises amoeboid cells which
come from the ectoderm. The mesoglea in
polyps is thin and thick in medusa,
essential for buoyancy
Characteristics of Cnidarians
• Body wall comprises stinging cells
referred to as cnidocytes. Each of the
cnidocyte cells comprises fluid filled
membranous capsules – cnida.
Cnidocytes are functional in
defending and capturing prey
• Cnidarians contain specialized cells
known as cnidocytes (“stinging
cells”) containing organelles called
nematocysts (stingers). These cells
are present around the mouth and
tentacles, and serve to immobilize
prey with toxins contained within the
cells.
Characteristics of Cnidarians
• They possess a blind sac-like central cavity
referred to as gastrovascular cavity or
coelenterons which opens out by the mouth
surrounded by tentacles. Mouth is functional
in ingestion and egestion. Coelenterons helps
in digestion and circulation.
• The body cavity, known as the gastro-
vascular cavity (coelenteron) contains only
one opening, called the mouth on the
hypostome which also acts as the anus.
• Through the process of diffusion across the
body wall, there is exchange of respiratory
gases and elimination of excretory wastes
takes place. Ammonia is the excretory waste.
Characteristics of Cnidarians
• Asexual reproduction is by fission,
budding and fragmentation
• Generally unisexual however some are
bisexual. External fertilization occurs,
and cleavage is holoblastic. Indirect
development and includes a free
swimming ciliated larval stage referred
to as planula
• The alternation of asexually
reproducing polyp form in species
having polyp and medusa phases and in
sexually reproducing medusa form is
referred to as metagenesis.
Characteristics of Cnidarians
• Cnidarians are among the simplest metazoan animals and are well known for
their remarkable regeneration capacity. They can regenerate any amputated
head or foot, and when dissociated into single cells, even intact animals will
regenerate from reaggregates.
• Medusae swim by a form of jet propulsion: muscles, especially inside the rim
of the bell, squeeze water out of the cavity inside the bell, and the springiness
of the mesoglea powers the recovery stroke.
• Cnidarians feed in several ways: predation, absorbing dissolved organic
chemicals, filtering food particles out of the water, obtaining nutrients from
symbiotic algae within their cells, and parasitism.
Benefits of Cnidarians
• Many creatures, including fish, insects, and
microorganisms like algae, rely on them for food
and refuge.
• They also help to prevent erosion along the
shoreline.
• These organisms are a good source of food for
humans and are consumed in regions of Asia and
North America.
• Cnidarian is commonly utilized as a building
material in several areas.
• The skeletons of cnidarians are utilized in jewelry.
