Phylum Cnidaria (ny-dar'e-a) (Gr. knide, nettle, + L.

aria,
like or connected with) includes animals with radial or biradial
symmetry. It is considered to be the most primitive of the
eumetazoans (true multicellular layers (diploblastic) – epidermis
and gastrodermis, animals). Cnidarians already exhibit a tissue-
level of organization – their body wall consists of 2 tissue and
between which is a gelatinous matrix (mesoglea). The body form
is a two-layered sac having a single internal coelenteron or
gastrovascular cavity with only one opening, the mouth, which
also serves as the anus. Most of the animals' metabolism
(digestion, respiration, excretion and circulation) takes place in

3
this body cavity, which can also serve as a simple form of
hydrostatic skeleton. They also have an exoskeleton or
endoskeleton of chitinous, calcareous, or of protein components.
Cnidarians are the simplest animals to possess true nerves cells
(protoneurons), sense organs (statocysts and ocelli), and a
PHYLUM locomotory system (an epitheliomuscular type).

CNIDARIA
Cnidarians are the only group of animals with nematocysts
for defense and capturing prey. These so-called stinging
organelles are formed and contained in specialized cells called
cnidocytes – from which the phylum takes its name.
Polymorphism – the existence of more than one body form – is
another distinguishing feature of this group. They could either be:
(a) in cylindrical polyp form.. often sessile or attached (benthic),
with tentacles encircling the mouth at the oral end; or (b) in
umbrella – or bell-like medusa form, free swimming (planktonic or
pelagic) with the mouth at the end of a manubrium and the
tentacles on the bell margin. Cindarians can either be
monoecious or dioecious.
 Cnidarians are entirely aquatic animals, some in freshwater but mostly marine.
Members include the hydroids, jellyfishes, sea anemones, and the corals.

Objectives At the end of this activity, the student should be able to:

1. identify the basic parts and organization of cnidarians.

2. differentiate the representative species of cnidarians from each other.

Classification

Phylum Cnidaria

Class Hydrozoa: Members of this class are either solitary or colonial. They exhibit
both polyp and medusa stages in their life cycle, although one type maybe
suppressed in some species. Polyps are devoid of mesenteries while the
medusae maybe partially closed by a velum – an ingrowth or inward projections
from the bell margin. The mesoglea is noncellular and gonads are epidermal.
Hydrozoans are relatively small and inconspicuous, inhabiting either freshwater
or marine water.
Ex: Hydra, Obelia, Physalia

Class Scyphozoa: Members are solitary. The medusa form in this class is
predominantly the most conspicuous stage in the life cycle while the polyp form
is absent or reduced and restricted to the larval stage. The scyphozoan medusa
umbrella margin is usually scalloped (notched) rather than entire, velum is
absent, and they are larger than the hydromedusae. The mesoglea is also
thicker and cellular and gonads are gastrodermal. Scyphozoans are the true
jellyfishes found inhabiting coastal marine waters while some are deep sea
dwellers.
Ex: Aurelia, Cassiopea

Class Cubozoa: Members are solitary. The polyp stage is reduced. The deep
cup-or-bell-shaped medusae have four flattened sides and are square in cross
section. Velum is absent in the medusa but a modified form, velarium is
present, and each corner of the bell margin bears one or more tentacles. All
species are marine. This group is known to contain the most deadly
nematocysts that can inflict pain and eventual death to a person within a few
minutes.
Ex : Chironex (sea wasp)

Class Anthozoa: Members of this class are either solitary or colonial polyp, the
medusa stage is completely absent. The anthozoan polyp is larger and complex
than the polyps of the other classes. A flat oral disc bearing tentacles contains
 the slit-like mouth leading into a stomodaeum (pharynx) and then to the
coelenteron which is subdivided by at least eight mesenteries or septa with
lidless nematocysts. The mesoglea is highly cellular and well developed, and
gonads are endodermal. Anthozoans are marine species, predominantly
sessile animals.

a. Subclass Zoantharia (Hexacorallia): They have more than eight simple,

unbranched tentacles and with more than eight paired internal mesenteries.
Includes solitary sea anemones and mostly colonial stony or hard corals. The latter
usually form coral reefs due to secretion of heavy calcareous (epidermal)
exoskeleton.
Ex : Metridium (sea anemone), Acropora (staghorn coral), Fungia
(mushroom coral)

b. Subclass Ceriantipatharia: They have simple, unbranched tentacles with

numerous unpaired internal mesenteries. Includes solitary tube anemones and
colonial black or thorny corals.
Ex : Antipathes (black coral)

c. Subclass Alcyonaria (Octocorallia): They have eight pinnate (branching) tentacles

and eight complete, unpaired mesenteries. The skeleton is internal (an integral
part of the tissue) of separate or fused calcareous spicules or of a horny material.
Includes mostly colonial horny and soft corals, sea pens, sea fans, and sea
pansies.
Ex: Tubipora (organ-pipe coral), Sarcophyton (soft coral), Gorgonia (sea
fan), Pennatula (sea pen), Renilla (sea pansy)

Materials
Specimen images of:
Hydra (w.m.), Obelia (w.m)
Metridium, Aurelia, Acropora, Fungia, Tubipora, Sarcophyton

Procedure

Label the photographs in the Activity Sheet.

Morphology of Selected Cnidarians

1. Hydra. This hydroid is a solitary polyp without a medusa phase. It is found in pools,
freshwater, and quiet streams usually attached on the underside of leaves of
aquatic vegetation. It can be seen with the naked eye with length ranging from 2 to
20 mm. Obtain a prepared slide of Hydra (w.m) and study the general body plan of
the organism. Notice the cylindrical body resembling a tube. The mouth (oral
end/distal end) can be found on a conical elevation, the hypostome, surrounded by
 6-10 slender, fingerlike, hollow projections, the tentacles. The proximal end (aboral
end) bears the foot or basal disk for attachment to a substratum and also secretes
a gas bubble for floating. A hollow outgrowth, a bud, may arise from the body wall
as an asexual form of reproduction. Sexually, a small outgrowth of the epidermis,
the testis, maybe seen near the oral end while a large, rounded elevation, the ovary,
toward the basal end. Species may either be monoecious or dioecious.

2. Obelia. This is an erect, "bushy" colonial hydroid that inhabits the sea and usually
found attached to shells, rocks, and algae/seaweeds. Both the polyp and medusa
stages are represented in their life cycle. The polyp form can be seen by the naked
eye but the medusa form is microscopic. Obtain a prepared slide of Obelia whole
mount (w.m.). The colony basically resembles the end-result of a budding Hydra if
all the buds remained attached to the parent and they too produce fixed buds. It
consists of a main stem, hydrocaulus, attached to a substratum through rootlike
structures, hydrorhizae (often absent in preserved material). The main stem gives-
off side branches that give rise to hydra-like structures, the nutritive hydranths or
gastrozooids (feeding polyps). Mature colonies also bear gonangia or gonozooids
(reproductive polyps) in the angles where the feeding polyps arise from the
hydrocaulus. They contain young medusa buds stacked one on top of the other.
Note that a transparent, chitinous layer, the perisarc, covers the entire colony.

3. Aurelia. This solitary true jellyfish (a scyphomedusa), also known as the moon jelly,
is a common cosmopolitan species inhabiting temperate and tropical sea waters.
Obtain a bottled specimen of Aurelia sp. It has a semi-transparent umbrella, more
discoidal and less cup-shaped than hydromedusae. The convex exumbrella is the
upper surface (dorsal region/aboral side) while the concave subumbrella is the
lower surface (ventral region/oral side). Note the short tentacles, form a fringe
around the animal's umbrella margin. The tentacles are armed by nematocysts. The
square mouth in the subumbrella opens at the end of the manubrium (a tube-like
extension) which hangs down from the center of the subumbrella. The manubrium
is drawn out to form four long, troughlike oral arms for prey capture and ingestion.

4. Metridium. Sea anemones inhabit the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, usually abundant
in tropical areas. They are solitary, sessile animals that do not live in colonies.
They are frequently found fastened to solid objects like rocks, shells, and
submerged timbers from low intertidal zone to depths of about 75 meters. They are
relatively colorful animals. Obtain a preserved, bottled specimen of Metridium. The
animal's skin is soft but strong and contains no skeletal structures. The major part
of the body is in the form of a cylindrical column but somewhat wrinkled in preserved
specimens. The free end (oral end) is differentiated into a flattened oral disk that
bears several short, hollow tentacles arranged in circlets around the central mouth.
The slit-like mouth leads to a short pharynx and then into the gastrovascular cavity.
It bears at one or both ends deep, ciliated grooves called siphonoglyphs that drive
the water and its circulation into the gastrovascular cavity. At the opposite end of
 the column (aboral end) is the basal or pedal disk that attaches the animal to a solid
substrate.

5. Acropora. Staghorn, Elkhorn or Antler corals are by far the most abundant corals
of most reefs of Indo-Pacific. Acropora species frequently outclass all other corals
in shallow tropical reefs especially where water is clear. They could be pale cream,
brown or dark brown in color. Obtain preserved specimens of Acropora. The
staghorn corals are plate-like colonies that are usually branching and bushy. The
colony is made-up of nonliving exoskeleton of calcium carbonate called corallum,
secreted by the polyps that resemble sea anemones. Each individual coral polyp
is found encased in a calcareous skeletal cup called corallite (calyx) and are
interconnected laterally. The polyps are no longer seen in the specimen. The
skeleton functions not only as a substratum for polyp attachment but also serves
as protection where the polyps can retract and hide from predators.

6. Fungia. Mushroom corals are usually solitary and generally free-living except for
juveniles. They are restricted to tropical waters and may occur in large
concentration in equatorial regions. Obtain preserved skeleton of Fungia. Fungia
species have a mushroom-shaped skeleton, hence, the common name mushroom
coral. The solitary anthozoan polyp can reach a diameter of 25 cm. They are flat
or dome-shaped (convex above and concave below), and circular or elongate in
outline, with a central mouth. They are mostly brown to pale brown in color. The
skeleton of this very large polyp is limited to sclerosepta projecting from the basal
plate. There is no wall, hence, no corallite.

7. Tubipora. Organ-pipe corals inhabit the Indo-Pacific and most abundant in warm
tropical areas. They may form extensive clumps in shallow water. Obtain a
preserved skeleton of this coral. Most conspicuous is the permanently colored red
organ-like tubes of the skeleton. In situ, brown to green tentacles of the polyps
extending from the tubes obscure the red skeleton underwater and thus, this
common coral is not easily recognized. Characterized by the lack of coenenchyme,
this alcyonarian produces a creeping mat of stolons from which polyps arise singly.
Notice that the colony’s skeleton is made-up of long, upright, parallel calcareous
tubes of fused spicules. Polyps are encased and supported by the skeletal tubes.
The tubes are connected at intervals by transverse calcareous plates or platforms.

8. Sarcophyton (Soft corals). These are tropical animals, often seen in Indo-Pacific
reefs. Obtain bottled specimens of Sarcophyton. These strange alcyonarians have
soft, fleshly colonies that may reach 1 meter in diameter. The coenenchyme forms
a rubber mass and the colony may have a massive mushroom shape. The polyps
are embedded but restricted on the outer lobe of the fleshy coenenchyme, where
they can extend and retract. Calcareous spicules are scattered and embedded in
the coenenchyme.
References

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