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Interesting Cnidarians
Hydras- a Hydrozoan
Freshwater hydrozoan Spend most of life as
polyp Can move with a
somersaulting movement
Portuguese Man-Of-War
A type of hydrozoan that grows in a colony
One of the polyps (pneumatophore) becomes a float to keep the colony on the surface
also known as bluebottles for the purple-blue color of their pneumatophores
They may produce very long tentacles(up to 50m)
the poison in the nematocysts is very strong and causes humans great pain (but rarely deadly)
JellyfishMost of life is as a medusa
The sting of most jelly fish are harmless to humans, but the tiny, Australian jellyfish can kill you in 3-20 minutes.
Box jelly
Sea Anemones & Corals
Only have the polyp stage
Most ecologically important invertebrates
Sea anemones are solitary polyps
Sea anemones
Clownfish and Sea Anemone –
Symbiotic relationship • sea anemone receives protection from polyp-eating
predators, like Butterfly Fish, which the clown fish chases away.
• the anemone also gets fertilizer from the feces of the Clown Fish
• tentacles protect clown fish from its predators
Corals
Grow in shallow, tropical water
Produce skeletons of CaCO3
Most are colonial, creating coral reefs
Entire ecosystems revolve around coral reefs
Coral reefs also protect the land from the ocean swells and waves
Corals produce chemicals to prevent being overgrown by other organisms. Some of these chemicals have been used as anti-cancer medications