Phylum Cnidaria

Cnidaria is a large phylum composed of some of the most

beautiful of all the salt and freshwater organisms: the true
jellyfish, box jellyfish, coral and sea anemones, and hydra.
Although Cnidaria is an incredibly diverse group of animals, there
are several traits that link them together.
Most cnidarians are dipoblastic, which means that they are
composed of only two layers of cells. The outer layer is known as
the ectoderm or epidermis, and the inner layer is known as the
endoderm or gastrodermis. These layers contain the nerve nets
that control the muscular and sensory functions of the animal.
Between these layers is a jelly-like noncellular substance known
as mesoglea, which in true jellyfish constitute the vast bulk of the
animal (hence their common name). In other species, the
mesoglea may be nearly absent. All cnidarians have a single
opening into the body which acts as both the mouth and anus,
taking in food and expelling waste. In most species the mouth is
lined with tentacles which act to capture food. The mouth leads to
a body cavity known as the coelenteron, where the food is
digested. This body cavity has given this phylum its other, less
commonly used, name of Coelenterata.
Cnidarians have a complex life cycle that, depending on the
species, may alternate between two forms. The first form is
known as a polyp, which is sessile (anchored to one spot). The
polyps are tubular in shape, with the mouth, often lined with
tentacles, facing upwards. The bodies often contain a type of
skeleton that may surround the tissues (exoskeleton) or be
surrounded by the tissues (endoskeleton). These skeletons may
be composed of minerals like calcium carbonate, and/or may
consist of organic material such as chitin. Polyps also have a
hydrostatic skeleton, where the muscles in the endoderm work
against the fluid contained in the coelenteron, thus extending the
polyps. Hydrostatic skeletons are also present in the tentacles,
allowing them to be extended to capture food. Polyps often form
large colonies, where a trait known as polymorphism may occur:
various polyps in the colony may take on specialized roles. For
example, one polyp may only be used for defence, while another
is used for reproduction and another for capturing food. Not all
polyps do this, however, and may live solitary lives. Some
cnidarians, such as true coral and sea anemones, live their entire
lives in the polyp stage and do not metamorphose into the second
form, which is known as the medusa.

In true jellyfish and in box jellyfish, the medusa is the most

prominent form. They are free-floating or free-swimming, with the
mesoglea giving them buoyancy. Medusae generally have only
hydrostatic skeletons, which allow the muscles to work against
the fluids in the coelenteron to enable the medusae to swim. The
life cycle of cnidarians that contain both the polyp and medusa
forms goes generally as follows: adult medusae reproduce
sexually, creating a small, ciliated (cilia are small hairs that beat
back and forth, allowing for locomotion) larva known as a planula.
The planula eventually settles on the sea floor and changes into a
polyp. The polyp can then reproduce asexually, commonly using
one of two ways: it can split in two, creating two clones of the
original, or it can form a colony, where the new polyps do not split
from the original but rather seem to grow off its sides. Then,
depending on the species, medusae can be formed asexually from
the polyps, or, as occurs with the box jellyfish, the polyp itself can
metamorphose into a medusa, and the cycle begins again. As
mentioned above, this cycle is common for the jellyfish and box
jellyfish. The coral and sea anemones remain as polyps. The
hydrozoans are the most diverse when it comes to life cycles:
some species may consist of both polyps and medusae, while
others are polyp-free, being only medusae, and yet others are
medusa-free, being only polyps.
Cnidarians are generally carnivorous in nature, but some species,
such as coral, get some of their food from special symbionts
(organisms that are benefited from and benefit the organisms
they are with) living within them. There are two main types of
symbionts: zooxanthellae, which are photosynthetic protists
(single-celled organisms) known as dinoflagellates, and
zoochlorellae, which are photosynthetic algae. These symbionts
capture the energy from the sun to produce sugars which are then
passed on to their host as a source of food. Not all cnidarians
possess these creatures however, and thus must capture their
own food. Because most cnidarians lack such sensory organs as
eyes, it is thought they hunt passively: namely, they just wave
their tentacles and hope something brushes near. When prey does
come in contact with the tentacles, special structures known as
nematocysts fire like harpoon guns into the flesh of the organism,
either injecting a toxin that paralyses and/or kills the prey, or
entangling the prey.
Nematocysts are common in all cnidarians, and are the one major
trait that separates this phylum from the others. There are
approximately 20-30 types of nematocysts know to date that help

distinguish between the various classes. Nematocysts are just one

of three types of structures located within the cells of the
tentacles and/or mouth lining that are known as cnidae (which is
how this phylum is named). The other two types are known as
spirocysts and ptychocysts. They all work in basically the same
way: when the cnida receives the appropriate physical or
chemical signal, a cover known as the operculum is moved back,
allowing a hollow structure known as a tubule to fire. This tubule
may contain toxins (as is the case with nematocysts), adhesives
that stick to the prey (spirocysts), or may just entangle bits of
mud that then form a type of mud home around the organism
(ptychocysts - found only in one order of the anemone and coral
class). Once a cnida has fired, it can no longer be used.
Most cnidarians are marine in nature, found from the shallow
water to the depths of the abyss. Some species of hydrozoans can
be found in freshwater ponds and lakes.
Some specialists recognize only three classes of cnidarians, but
today it is generally accepted that there are four, with the box
jellyfish, previously being grouped with the true jellyfish, as the
newest addition. There are approx 9200 species in 4 classes:
Anthozoa (true coral, sea anemones, sea pens) 6000 spp
Cubozoa (box jellyfish) 20 spp
Hydrozoa (freshwater hydra, fire coral) 3000 spp
Scyphozoa (true jellyfish) 200 spp

Terminology
Sessile: permanently attached: describes an animal that is
permanently attached to something rather than freemoving, e.g. a barnacle. Describes shellfish that remain in
one place, usually attached to a rock, for most of their
lives
Question (i)
Explain the selective advantage of radial symmetry for
sessile and free-floating animals

Possible Answer
Sessile and free-floating animals such as echinoderms and
cnidarians exhibit two distinct advantages of radial
symmetry. Primarily, radial symmetry allows animals to
reach out in all directions from one center such as during
feeding. This is an advantage since sessile and freefloating animals do not exhibit a high degree of
controllable movement even during food collecting
periods. Secondarily, radial symmetric animals are able to
receive stimuli from all directions which have efficient
defense mechanisms due to their radial symmetric
distribution

Question (ii)
What characteristics of the phylum Cnidaria do you think
are most important in distinguishing it from other phyla?
Possible Answer

The basic characteristic that distinguishes phylum cnidaria

from other phyla, is that all animals of the cnidaria phylum
have cnidocytes which are specialized cells located on the
tentacles mostly and some are also found on cnidarians
body surface. The nematocyte, a coiled threadlike tubular
structure with spines, also know as harpoon, is found
within a cnidocyte cell. Such cells are used by the
cnidarians as both defensive and offensive mechanisms.
Other secondary characteristics that distinguish
cnidarians from other animals in different phyla are that
the cnidarians, have two basic body forms (polyp,
medusa), undergo digestion of food internally and
extracellularly, and have two germ layers the epidermis
and gastrodermis.