Republic of the Philippines

PARTIDO STATE UNIVERSITY

Camarines Sur

Caramoan Campus
MODULE IV

CORAL ANATOMY and MORPHOLOGY

Name of student: ________________________________ Week Number: 5

Course Code: MB9 Name of Faculty: Diana Rose R. Pesimo
Course Title: CORAL REEFS

**************************************************************************************************************************

I. Objectives

At the end of this module, students are expected to:

• Determine the taxonomic classification of Phylum Cnidaria
• Identify the anatomy of the corals
• Describe the parts of the corals

II. Lesson

Phylum Cnidaria

Cnidarians include jellyfish, corals, sea anemones, the Portuguese man-of-war, hydroids, and the
freshwater hydras; the number of species contained in Cnidaria is commonly given as 10,000. For many
years, the phylum was divided into three classes, but five are now accepted; moreover, if myxozoans are
considered cnidarians, there may be seven. Aside from Myxozoa, the cnidarian classes are (1) Anthozoa
(sea anemones, corals, sea fans, sea pens, and sea pansies), (2) Hydrozoa (hydroids, hydras, and
hydromedusae), (3) Scyphozoa (“true” jellyfish), (4) Cubozoa (box jellies; formerly included in Scyphozoa),
and (5) Staurozoa (the Stauromedusae; formerly included in Scyphozoa). All except a few hydrozoans are
marine. The Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, Cubozoa, and Staurozoa are collectively referred to as the Medusozoa
(an informal designation) because at least some species in each class have a medusa in the life cycle,
whereas no anthozoans do. As for Myxozoa, a long-standing hypothesis considers that myxozoans are
cnidarians, based on the similarity of the myxozoan polar capsule and the cnidarian nematocyst; some

Figure 1. a. Jelly fish b. Corals c. Sea Anemone (Image Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates)

molecular data support that hypothesis. Myxozoans are very small animals, the freshwater representatives
of which parasitize mainly fishes (as does a very specialized hydrozoan) as well as annelids and bryozoans
(McGraw-Hill Education, 2014).

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Class Anthozoa
Anthozoans comprise the largest group of Cnidaria, with about 6,000 living species worldwide. All
are marine and there is no medusa phase. The mouth opens into a stomach cavity that is partitioned by
mesenteries that expand the inner absorptive surface. There are two subclasses – the Octocorallia
(Alcyonaria), which have eight mesenteries and tentacles, and the Hexacorallia (Zoantharia) with tentacles
and mesenteries in multiples of six (Cairns, et al., 2018).

Classification of Phylum Cnidaria

Subdivision Characteristics Representative
Genera
Class Almost exclusively
Anthozoa colonial, each polyp with
eight tentacles and
mesenteries; also called
Alcyonaria. Almost
exclusively colonial, each
polyp with eight tentacles
and mesenteries; also
called Alcyonaria
Subclass Soft corals, precious Alcyonium,
Octocorallia coral; sea fans and sea Anthomastus,
whips; sclerites in most Clavularia,
species; thin or thick Corallium,
coenenchyme or stolonic Tubipora,
network connects polyps; Gorgonia,
some with axial skeleton Muricea
, Image 1.Octocorallia (Source:
fineart.com)
Helioporacea Blue coral; calcareous Heliopora
skeleton of aragonite;
also called
Coenothecalia ,

Image 2. Heliopora coerulea

(Source: common.wikimedia.org)

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Pennatulacea Sea pens and pansies; Pennatula,

colony retractile, with Renilla,
bilateral symmetry , Virgularia

Image 3. Ptilosarcus gurneyi (Source:

biodiversitycentralcost.com)

Subclass Tentacles and

Hexacorallia mesenteries more or less
hexamerously arranged;
also called Zoantharia

Image 4. Hexacorallia (Source:

wikisipecies.org)

Order: Sea anemones; solitary Actinia,

Actiniaria (may be clonal); live at all Dactylanthus,
depths in all seas Edwardsia,
Metridium

Image 5. Actiniaria (Source:

seawater.no)

Antipatharia Thorny or black corals; Antipathes,

axial skeleton Dendrobranchia

Image 6. Antipathes grandis (Source:

mbr.biomedcentral.com)

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PARTIDO STATE UNIVERSITY
Camarines Sur

Ceriantharia Tube anemones; solitary; Cerianthus

lack pedal disk

Image 7. Ceriantharia (Source:

britannica.com)

Corallimorpharia Resemble corals; lack Corallimorphus,

skeleton; tentacles Corynactis
radially arranged

Image 8. Corallimorphs (Source:

inaturalist.nz)

Rugosa Solitary or compound Lambeophyllum,

corals; calcareous Petraia,
skeleton; all fossil Syringaxon

Image 9. Lambeophyllum (Source:

fossiliid.info)

Scleractinia True or stony corals; Astrangia,

solitary and colonial; half Fungia, Porites
of species reef formers

Image 10. Astrangia spp. (Source:

alchetron.com)

Tabulata “Honeycomb corals”; Favosites

colonial, calcareous,
tabulate corallites; all
fossil

Image 11. Favosites (Source:

alchetron.com)

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PARTIDO STATE UNIVERSITY
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Zoanthidea Mat anemones; no Palythoa,

skeleton; solitary or Parazoanthus,
colonial, many Zoanthus
commensal

Image 12. Parazoanthus axinellae

(commons.wikimedia.org)

Anatomy of Anthozoa

Tissue Level of Organization:

• It is more complex than sponges but still very simple;
• Have a true tissue;
• Body wall is made of 2 layers of tissue;
• May or may not have organs;

Body Forms
Many cnidarians are polymorphic
• It has 2 or more separate body forms with an alternation between forms
• It has 2 distinct forms:
o Polyp (hydroid)
▪ Tubular body
▪ Usually sessile (although some can move)
▪ Upward facing mouth surrounded by tentacles
o Medusa (medusa)
▪ Medusa shaped
▪ Mouth facing downward
▪ Often thick jelly-like layer in body wall
▪ Motile: contractions of “bell”
▪ Free-floating, pelagic planktonic

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PARTIDO STATE UNIVERSITY
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Cells & Tissues

There are two (2) true tissue layers and is diploblastic. Diploblastic is having a body derived from
only two (2) embryonic cell layers (ectoderm and endoderm, but no mesoderm). Between the two tissues is
a jelly layer called mesoglea.

Body Wall

1. Epidermis - tissue layer that lines outer surface

2. Mesoglea – jelly-like middle layer; not tissue layer
3. Gastrodermis – tissue layer that lines gastrovascular cavity (GVC)

1. Epidermis
• It is the outer layer of the animal
• Consists of cells that cover and protect
• Also contain special stinging cells
• Some areas also have gland cells for attachment
• Contain nervous and sensory cells
• Most epidermal cells contain contractile fibers and act like muscle cells to produce
movement

Cells of Epidermis
• Epithellomuscular cells
o Covers outside of the body
o Tall T shapes, columnar cells
o Base elongated with myofibrils
o Muscular contractions
• Interstitial Cell
o Undifferentiated cells
o Can form cnidocytes, nerve cells, sex cells but not epitheliomuscular cells
• Gland Cells
o Around basal disc and mouth
o Secretes mucus and adhesives
o Those in the basal disc can secrete gas bubbles for floating
• Cnidocytes
o Stinging cells
• Sensory Cells
o Scattered but especially near mouth and tentacles
o Respond to chemical and tactile stimuli
• Nerve Cells
o Most multipolar (3 or more processes)
o Form synapses with sensory cells and other nerve cells
o Connect to epitheliomuscular cells and cnidocytes
2. Mesoglea
Not really a tissue layer, just a layer of a jelly-like very thin layer in polyps (much thicker in
medusa thus “jellyfish).

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3. Gastrodermis
o The inner lining of the digestive sac
o Made mostly of cells that digest and absorb food
o These cells also contain contractile fibers for movement

Cells of Gastrodermis
• Nutritive muscular cells
o Tall T shaped cells, columnar cells
o Ciliated
o Base elongated with myofibrils
o Lines GVC
o Contains dinoflagellate algal symbionts
• Interstitial cells
o Scattered
o Transform into other cells as needed
• Gland Cells
o In hypostome and scattered throughout
o Some secrete digestive enzymes
o Mucous glands around mouth

Movement
• The polyp is typically sessile and often secretes cup like cavity in which it lives.
• Muscle layers in body wall contract against hydrostatic skeleton
• Some polyps of non-colonial forms are motile

Feeding and Digestion

• Most species have one or more rings of tentacles surrounding mouths
• Armed with cnidocytes (stinging cells) for capturing prey
• Inside each cell is harpoon-like nematocyst
o Highly coiled tubular thread
o Contained within a capsule like organelle
o Trigger-like cnidocil (tactile trigger)
• Digestive system is a mouth that opens into a saclike cavity
o Gastrovascular Cavity (pharynx) is lined with gastrodermis
o Partitioned by septa (mesenteries (can be complete or incomplete)
o Free edge of incomplete septae from – septal filaments with nematocysts
o In some, lower septal filament prolonged acontia with nematocysts

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General Morphology
Of the two epithelial tissue layers, the endoderm (also termed the gastrodermis) lines the single body
space, the coelenteron (also termed the gastrovascular cavity), and the ectoderm (also termed the epidermis)
forms the external surface. [The name Coelenterata is derived from the term coelenteron (meaning “hollow
gut”).] Between the ectoderm and endoderm is the mesoglea, which varies from a thin, acellular cementing
layer to the thick, cellular and fibrous gelatinous layer that is the “jelly” of jellyfishes. Myxozoans are
microscopic and differ morphologically from other cnidarians.

Figure 2. Comparison of Hydrozoan polyp, Medusa, and Anthozoa Polyp (Image

Source: https://www.accessscience.com/media/EST/media/145900PV0001.pdf)

The ectoderm is, in general, a single layer of cells, varying in form from flat and squamous to tall and
columnar. It may Figure
be ciliated; in its food-gathering
3. Comparison of Hydrozoanmode,
polyp, the ciliaryand
Medusa, beat can move
Anthozoa material
Polyp (Imagetoward the mouth
from the surface of the animal and its tentacles, but the direction is reversed in its cleaning mode. The
Source: https://www.accessscience.com/media/EST/media/145900PV0001.pdf)

endoderm may also be ciliated: cilia circulate water through the coelenteron (as do muscles) and move food
around within it.

Being at the “tissue grade” of construction, cnidarians lack organs and, therefore, organ systems.
Their diploblastic structure means that they essentially consist of folded sheets of epithelia—and so have
been termed “origami animals.” Types of cells in the epithelia (both ectoderm and endoderm) include gland
cells (that produce mucus and digestive enzymes), sensory cells, undifferentiated interstitial cells, ciliated
cells, and cnidocytes (cells that produce cnidae, including nematocysts). Epitheliomuscular cells, in which
the elongated cell base contains contractile fibrils, may constitute the entire musculature of simple polyps,
such as most hydroids, but sea anemones and medusae have distinct muscle cells (contrary to many
textbooks).

Polyp

A polyp is typically benthic (lives associated with the bottom of an ocean, lake, or stream), sessile,
cylindrical, and elongated along the oral-aboral axis. The mouth, at the polyp’s free (distal) end, is almost
invariably surrounded by few to many hollow or solid tentacles (depending on the taxonomic group) arrayed
in whorls or radially (or both). The aboral (proximal) end of a polyp (commonly referred to as the base or
pedal disk) may be adapted for attachment to a solid substratum or for burrowing into a soft substratum;
however, in colonial species, it arises from another polyp or the common tissue mass. With strong bilaterality
in some taxa, especially class Anthozoa, the polyp’s symmetry is typically tetraradial, hexameral, octameral,
or decameral, but it may be otherwise. An anthozoan polyp has sheets of tissue extending radially from the
column wall into the coelenteron; some or all of these mesenteries connect with the actinopharynx (or
stomodeum), a tube of tissue extending partway into the coelenteron from the mouth. The mesoglea of a
polyp may be little more than an adhesive, holding the two cell layers together (as in many hydroids), or it

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may be thick, spongy, and with many cells (as in some sea anemones). Polyps range in length from 1 mm
(0.04 in.) to 2 m (6.6 ft).

Medusa

A medusa is typically pelagic (lives free in the water), with thick mesoglea; its “body” is termed a bell
because of its form. The outer (aboral) surface of the bell is termed the exumbrella, and the underside (oral
part) is termed the subumbrella. The mouth commonly opens at the end of a tube of tissue (the manubrium)
that extends from the underside of the bell (Fig. 2, center); there may be some tentaclelike structures
immediately around the mouth, but typically the tentacles are located at the margin of the bell. Conventionally
portrayed with the tentacles hanging downward and the exumbrella pointing toward the surface of the sea,
most medusae spend much of their time in postures other than this. The mouth, commonly via the
manubrium, leads to the central coelenteron. Radial canals may run between the cavity and the margin on
the subumbrellar side, and they commonly communicate with a ring canal that is continuous around the
margin; canals may also run from the ring canal along the tentacles. The mesoglea serves as a type of
internal skeleton, against which muscles act, and its elasticity returns the bell to its original shape after each
contractile pulse.

Cnidae

The name of phylum Cnidaria is derived from “cnidae,” microscopic structures that are the phylum’s most
distinctive feature, and the most complex secretory product made by any animal. Each is formed within a cell
(a cnidocyte) and consists of a capsule and a tubule that is coiled or folded within the capsule. When
discharge occurs, the tubule emerges from one end of the capsule; typically, the tubule is many times longer
than the capsule. A cnida can be used only once; after discharge, it is expelled from the cell that made it.
Because each individual cnidarian has thousands or millions of these capsules, their manufacture must
expend much of a cnidarian’s energy. There are three types of cnidae: nematocysts are formed by all
cnidarians (and only cnidarians); spirocysts are restricted to the subclass Hexacorallia of class Anthozoa;
and ptychocysts are restricted to order Ceriantharia of subclass Hexacorallia.

Nematocysts

When a nematocyst (a “stinging capsule,” not a “stinging cell” as it is sometimes called) is

appropriately stimulated, its tubule rapidly everts (turns inside out, like a coat sleeve). Some types are used
offensively (they are the means by which the exclusively carnivorous cnidarians capture their food) and some
types are used defensively. Some types of hydrozoan nematocysts have a cnidocil (a trigger) that must be
stimulated for discharge to occur; in other cnidarians, it appears that the sensation triggering discharge is
received at some distance from the nematocyst, and nerves transfer the impulse that stimulates discharge.
Thus, a cnidarian has some control over the use of its nematocysts, although previously nematocysts were
thought to discharge upon appropriate stimulation, without any control by the animal. Such control is
reasonable; each nematocyst can be used only once, so producing them represents a large portion of the
energy budget of a cnidarian.

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PARTIDO STATE UNIVERSITY
Camarines Sur

III. ACTIVITY

Draw and name the anatomical structure of Corals. In a separate sheet of paper, define the
function of each part.

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PARTIDO STATE UNIVERSITY
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Identify and describe all parts of corals.

Parts Function

IV. ASSESSMENT

1. Are corals animals? __________________________________

2. What are stony corals?
____________________________________________________________________________
3. What is the function of being stony?
____________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
4. What is an individual coral called? __________________________________
5. What structure allows corals to feed? __________________________________
6. What is the structure called that exists in the coral’s tentacles and aids in feeding?
__________________________________
7. What do corals eat?
____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
8. Are all corals colonial? If not, provide an example to support your answer.
____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
9. What is the anatomical structure that allows corals to share nutrients?
_________________________________

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V. REFERENCES

Cairns, S. D., Gershwin, L.-A., Brook, F. J., Pugh, P., Dawson, E., Ocaña, O. V., . . . Fautin, D.
(2018). New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Retrieved from Repository:
https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/8431/iz_2009_NZ_Chapter_04_Cnidari
a.pdf
De Vera, D. E. (2017). Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines: A Country Case Study. Hanoi,
Vietnam.
Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. (2022). Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum. Retrieved
from https://www.livingoceansfoundation.org/education/portal/for-teachers/course-
resources/
McGraw-Hill Education. (2014). AccessScience. Retrieved from
https://www.accessscience.com/media/EST/media/145900PV0001.pdf
National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. (2019, February 1). NOAA. Retrieved from
https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/marine-life/coral-reef-ecosystems
SERC. (2020, June 18). Earth Labs. Retrieved from
https://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/corals/4a.html
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2021, July 15). EPA. Retrieved from
https://www.epa.gov/coral-reefs/basic-information-about-coral-reefs

Images Sources:

Figure 1. a. Jelly fish b. Corals c. Sea Anemone (Image Source:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates)......................................................... 1
Figure 2. Comparison of Hydrozoan polyp, Medusa, and Anthozoa Polyp (Image Source:
https://www.accessscience.com/media/EST/media/145900PV0001.pdf) ..................................... 8

Image 1.Octocorallia (Source: fineart.com) .................................................................................... 2

Image 2. Heliopora coerulea (Source: common.wikimedia.org) .................................................... 2
Image 3. Ptilosarcus gurneyi (Source: biodiversitycentralcost.com) ............................................. 3
Image 4. Hexacorallia (Source: wikisipecies.org) .......................................................................... 3
Image 5. Actiniaria (Source: seawater.no) ..................................................................................... 3
Image 6. Antipathes grandis (Source: mbr.biomedcentral.com) ................................................... 3
Image 7. Ceriantharia (Source: britannica.com) ............................................................................ 4
Image 8. Corallimorphs (Source: inaturalist.nz) ............................................................................. 4
Image 9. Lambeophyllum (Source: fossiliid.info) ........................................................................... 4
Image 10. Astrangia spp. (Source: alchetron.com)........................................................................ 4
Image 11. Favosites (Source: alchetron.com) ............................................................................... 4
Image 12. Parazoanthus axinellae (commons.wikimedia.org) ...................................................... 5

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