Animalia > Cnidaria

Cnidaria (cnidarians)

Wikipedia Abstract

Cnidaria (/naɪˈdɛəriə/) is a phylum containing over 10,000 species of animals found exclusively in aquatic (freshwater and marine) environments: they are predominantly marine species. Their distinguishing feature is cnidocytes, specialized cells that they use mainly for capturing prey. Their bodies consist of mesoglea, a non-living jelly-like substance, sandwiched between two layers of epithelium that are mostly one cell thick. They have two basic body forms: swimming medusae and sessile polyps, both of which are radially symmetrical with mouths surrounded by tentacles that bear cnidocytes. Both forms have a single orifice and body cavity that are used for digestion and respiration. Many cnidarian species produce colonies that are single organisms composed of medusa-like or polyp-like zooi
View Wikipedia Record: Cnidaria

Class

Anthozoa (anemones and corals) (14,334)   (41)   (1)
Cubozoa (sea wasps or box jellyfish) (55)
Hydrozoa (hydralike animals, hydroids, and hydrozoans) (4,319)   (6)
Myxozoa (684)
Scyphozoa (cup animals and jellyfishes) (400)   (1)
Staurozoa (57)

Family

Genus

External References

Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0